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VOL. II. 



THE 



GEOGRAPHY 



STRABO. 



LITERALLY TRANSLATED, WITH NOTES. 

THE FIRST SIX BOOKS 

BY H. C. HAMILTON, ESQ. 

THE REMAINDER 

BY W. FALCONER, M.A., 

LATE FELLOW OF EXETER COLLEGE, OXFORD. 



IN THREE VOLUMES. 

VOL. n. 



LONDON : 
HENRY G. BOHN, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN. 

MDCCCLVI. 



(^ NOV 2 9 1965 j^ |J 



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V.2- 



JOHN GUILDS AND SON, BUNGAY. 



STRABO'S GEOGRAPHY. 



BOOK VIII. 

EUROPE CONTINUED. GREECE. 

SUMMABY. 

The remaining parts of Macedonia are considered, and the whole of Greece ; 
on this the author dwells some time on account of the great reputation 
of the country. He corrects minutely, and clears up, the confused and 
vague accounts respecting the cities contained therein, given by poets and 
historians, and especially in the Catalogue and in many other parts of the 
Poem. 

CHAPTER I. 

1 . After having described as much of the western parts 
of Europe as is comprised within the interior and exterior 
seas, and surveyed all the barbarous nations which it contains, 
as far as the Don^ and a small part of Greece, [namely, 
Macedonia,] 2 we propose to give an account of the remainder 
of the Helladic geography. Homer was the first writer on 
the subject of geography, and was followed by many others, 
some of whom composed particular treatises, and entitled them 
" Harbours," "Voyages," " Circuits of the Earth, "^ or gave them 
some name of this kind, and these comprised the description 
of the Helladic country. Some, as Ephorus and Polybius^ 
included in their general history a separate topography of 
the continents ; others, as Posidonius and Hipparchus, intro- 
duced matter relating to geography in their writings on 
physical and mathematical subjects. 

It is easy to form an opinion of the other writers, but the 
poems of Homer require critical consideration, both because 
he speaks as a poet, and because he describes things not as 

' The ancient Tanais. ^ These words are interpolated. Casaubon. 
^ XiyLiviQ, TrepiTrXoi, Trtpiodoi yrjg. 



2 STRABO. Casatjb. 333. 

they exist at present, but as they existed anciently, and the 
greater part of which have been rendered obscure by time. 

We must however undertake this inquiry as far as we are 
able, beginning from the point where our description ended. 

It ended with an account of the Epirotic and Illyrian nations 
on the west and north, and of Macedonia as far as Byzantium 
on the east. 

After the Epirotas and lUyrii follow the Acarnanes,^ the 
JEtoli, the Locri-Ozolae, then the Phocaeenses and Boeoti, 
Grecian nations. Opposite to these on the other side of the 
strait is Peloponnesus, which comprises the Gulf of Corinth,^ 
interposed between, and determining the figure of the latter, 
from which it also receives its own. Next to Macedonia^ 
are the Thessalians,'* extending as far as the Malienses,^ and 
the other nations, situated on both sides of the isthmus. 

2. There are many Greek tribes, but the chief people are 
equal in number to the Greek dialects with which we are 
acquainted, namely, four. Of these, the Ionic is the same as 
the ancient Attic ; (for lones was the former name of the in- 
habitants of Attica ; from thence came the lones who settled 
in Asia,^ and use the dialect now called Ionic ;) the Doric was 
the same as the -^olic dialect, for all the people on the other 
side of the isthmus except the Athenians, the Megareans, and 
the Dorians about Parnassus, are even now called ^olians ; 
rtK' ^* ^^ probable that the Dorians, from their being a small 
^T^^^ nation, and occupying a most rugged country, and from want 
' of intercourse [with the -^olians], no longer resemble that 

people either in language or customs, and, although of the 
same race, have lost all appearance of affinity. It was the 
same with the Athenians, who inhabiting a rugged country 
^\ ^., wTnTaTltght soil, escaped the ravages of invaders. As they 
/ \*f ' always ocfvirQJ gd-lhe same territory ^ and-no-enemy attejn£ted_to 
, ^^ ^pel fKe m/nor ha danydesir e to take p n,?spssioQ-i)f^ttEem^- 
J^ \ se^s^on this account they~were, according to Thucydides, 
w** A_ regarded as Autochthones, or an indigenous race. This was 

t^^^^yS ' The territory of the Acarnanes is still called Carnia, south of the 

.3'' Gulf of Arta. The rest of the countries mentioned by Strabo no longer 

V retain the ancient divisions, Boeotia is the modern Livadhia. G. 

2 The Gulf of Lepanto. » Makedunea. 

. f ^ The ancient Thessaly is the modern Vlakea. 

* The neighbourhood of the Gulf of Zeitun — the ancient Maliac Gulf. 
' In Asia Minor, and founded the cities Miletus, Smyrna, Phocaea, &c. 









B. Tin. c. I. § 3. GREECE. 3 

probably thej-eason, although jthey were a small nation, whjL, 
J^e y remained a distmcrpe.Qplfij?nth_a distiricT^JIalect. 

It was not in the parts only on the other side"of thelithmus, 
that the ^olian nation was powerful, but those on this side 
also were formerly Cohans. They were afterwards inter- 
mixed first with lonians who came from Attica, and got pos- 
session of jEgialus,^ and secondly with Dorians, who under 
the conduct of the Heracleidae founded Megara and many of 
the cities in the Peloponnesus. The lones were soon expelled 
by the Achaei, an ^olian tribe ; and there remained in Pelo- 
ponnesus the two nations, the ^olic and the Doric. Those 
nations then that had little intercourse with the Dorians used 
the ^olian dialect. (This was the case with the Arcadians 
and Eleians, the former of whom were altogether a mountain 
tribe, and did not share in the partition of the Peloponnesus ; 
the latter were considered as dedicated to the service of 
the Olympian Jupiter, and lived for a long period in peace, 
principally because they were of ^olian descent, and had 
admitted into their country the army of Oxylus, about the time 
of the return of the Heracleidae.^) The rest used a kind of 
dialect composed of both, some of them having more, others 
less, of the -^olic dialect. Even at present the inhabitants of 
different cities use different dialects, but all seem to Dorize, 
or use the Doric dialect, on account of the ascendency of that 
nation. 

Such then is the number of the Grecian nations, and thus 
in general are they distinguished from each other. 

I shall resume my account of them, and describe each 
nation in their proper order. 

3. According to Ephorus, AcarnaniaJla_the_comm^C£ment 
of Greece on the west, for it is the first country which lies 
contiguous to the Epirotic nations. As this author follows 
the coast in his measurements, and begins from thence, con- 
sidering the sea the most important guide of topographical 
description, (for otherwise he might have placed the beginning 
of Greece in Macedonia and Thessaly,) so ought I, observing 

' The word ^gialus (AiyiaXbg) signifies sea-shore. The name was 
given to this part of the Peloponnesus (afterwards called Achaia) from 
the towns being situated generally along the coast. Others, however, give 
a different explanation to the word. 

* 1113 before the Christian era. G. 



* STRABO. Casaub. 334. 

the natural character of places, to keep in view the sea as a 
mark by which I should direct the course of my description. 

The sea coming from Sicily spreads itself on one side 
towards the Corinthian Gulf, and on the other forms a large 
peninsula, the Peloponnesus, united to the main-land by a 
narrow isthmus. 

The two largest bodies of country in Greece are that within 
the isthmus, and that without the isthmus, [extending to the 
mouths of the river Peneius]. That within the isthmus is how- 
ever larger, and more celebrated. The Peloponnesus is, as it 
were, the acropolis or citadel of all Greece ; and all Greece in 
a manner holds the chief or leading position in Europe. For 
independently of the fame and power of the nations which 
inhabited it, the position itself of the places in it suggests 
this superiority. One site succeeds another diversified with 
numerous most remarkable bays, and large peninsulas. The 
first of these peninsulas is the Peloponnesus, closed in by 
an isthmus of forty stadia in extent. The second compre- 
hends the first, and has an isthmus reaching from Pagse in 
Megaris to Nisaea, which is the naval arsenal of the Megare- 
ans ; the passage across the isthmus from sea to sea is 120 
stadia. 

The third peninsula also comprises the latter. Its isthmus 
extends from the farthest recess of the Crissasan Gulf to 
Thermopylae. The line supposed to be drawn between these 
is about 508 stadia in length, including within it the whole 
of Boeotia, and cutting Phocis and the country of the 
Epicnemidii obliquely. The fourth peninsula has the isthmus 
extending from the Ambracian Gulf through Mount CEta 
and Traclinia to the Maliac Gulf and Thermopylae, about 
800 stadia. 

There is another isthmus of more than 1000 stadia reach- 
ing from the same Gulf of Ambracia, and passing through 
the country of the Thessalians and Macedonians to the recess 
of the Thermaean Gulf. 

The succession of peninsulas furnishes a convenient order 
to be followed in describing the country. 

We must begin from the smallest, as being also the most 
famous of these peninsulas.^ 

^ Taking the reverse order in which these peninsulas are described, 
the fifth and last contains all the rest, the fourth all but the difi'erence 



B. VIII. c. II. ^ 1, 2. GREECE. THE PELOPONNESUS. 



CHAPTER II. 

1. The Peloponnesus resembles in figure the leaf of a plane 
tree.^ Its length and breadth are nearly equal, each about 
1400 stadia. The former is reckoned from west to east, that 
is, from the promontory Chelonatas through Olympia and the 
territory Megalopolitis to the isthmus ; the latter from south 
to north, or from Maliae though Arcadia to ^gium. 

The circumference, according to Polybius, exclusive of the 
circuit of the bays, is 4000 stadia. Artemidorus however 
adds to this 400 stadia, and if we include the measure of the 
bays, it exceeds 5600 stadia. We have already said that the 
isthmus at the road where they draw vessels over-land from 
one sea to the other is 40 stadia across. 

2. Eleians and Messenians occupy the western side of this 
peninsula. Their territory is washed by the Sicilian Sea. 
They possess the coast also on each side. Elis bends towards 
the north and the commencement of the Corinthian Gulf as 
far as the promontory Araxus,^ opposite to which across the 
strait is Acarnania; the islands Zacynthus,^ Cephallenia,'* 
Ithaca,^ and the Echinades, to which belongs Dulichium, lie 
in front of it. The greater part of Messenia is open to the 
south and to the Libyan Sea as far as the islands Thyrides 
near Taenarum.^ 

Next to Elis, is the nation of the Achaei looking towards 
the north, and stretching along the Corinthian Gulf they 
terminate at Sicyonia. Then follow Sicyon"^ and Corinth, 
extending as far as the isthmus. Next after Messenia are 

between the fourth and fifth, and so on in order until we come to the Pe- 
loponnesus, properly so called, which is thus the least of the peninsulas. 
Strabo himself seems to admit the term peninsula to be improperly ap- 
plied to these subdivisions, by first describing Greece to be divided into 
two great bodies, viz. that within and that without the Isthmus of Cor- 
inth. 

^ For the same reason, at a subsequent period, it obtained the name of 
Morea, in Greek (Mopta) which signifies mulberry, a species or variety 
of which tree bears leaves divided into five lobes — equal in number to the 
five principal capes of the Peloponnesus. See book ii. eh. i. 30. 

2 Cape Papa. ^ Zante. * Cephalonia. ' Theaki. 

' Cape Matapan. ' Basilico. 



6 STRABO. Casaub. 33o. 

Laconia and Argeia, which latter country also reaches as far 
as the isthmus. 

The bays of the Peloponnesus are the Messeniac,^ the La- 
conian,^ a third the Argolic,^ and a fourth the Hermionic/ 
or the Saronic,^ which some writers call the Salaminiac bay. 
Some of these bays are supplied by the Libyan, others by 
the Cretan and Myrtoan Seas. Some call even the Saronic 
Gulf a sea. In the middle of Peloponnesus is Arcadia, lying 
contiguous to all the other nations. 

3. The Corinthian Gulf begins from the mouths of the 
Evenus,^ (some say from the mouths of the Achelous,*^ which 
is the boundary between the Acarnanes and -^toli,) and from 
the promontory Araxus. For there the shores on both sides 
first begin to contract, and have a considerable inclination 
towards each other ; as they advance farther onwards they 
nearly meet at Rhium ^ and Antirrhium,^ leaving a channel of 
only about 5 stadia between them. 

Rhium is a promontory of Achaia, it is low, and bends in- 
wards like a sickle, (indeed it has the name of Drepanum, or 
the Sickle,) and lies between Patrae^^ and ^gium,^^ on it there 
is a temple of Neptune. Antirrhium is situated on the con- 
fines of ^tolia and Locris. It is called Rhium Molycrium. 
From this point the sea-shore again parts in a moderate de- 
gree on each side, and advancing into the Crisscean Gulf, ter- 
minates there, being shut in by the western boundaries of 
Boeotia and Megaris. 

The Corinthian Gulf is 2230 stadia in circuit from the 
river Evenus to the promontory Araxus ; and if we reckon 
from the Achelous, it would be increased by about 100 stadia. 

The tract from the Achelous to the Evenus is occupied by 
Acarnanians ; next are the ^toli, reaching to the Cape An- 
tirrhium. The remainder of the country, as far as the isthmus, 
is occupied by Phocis, Bceotia, and by Megaris, it extends 
1118 stadia. 

The sea from Cape Antirrhium as far as the isthmus is 
[the Crissaean Gulf, but from the city Creusa it is called the 
Sea of] Alcyonis, and is a portion of the Crissaean Gulf.^^ 

» Gulf of Coron. « Gulf of Colochina. » Gulf of Napoli. 

* Gulf of Castri. * Gulf of Egina. ® Fidari, ^ Aspropotamo. 
^ Drepano. ^ Castle of Roumelia. '" Patras. " Vostitza. 
" The words in brackets are inserted according to the suggestion of 



B. VIII. c. Ill, § 1, 2. GREECE. ELIS. * 

From the isthmus to the promontory Araxus is a distance of 
1030 stadia. 

Such in general then is the nature and extent of the Pelo- 
ponnesus, and of the country on the other side of the strait up 
to the farther recess of the gulf. Such also is the nature of 
the gulf between both. 

We shall next describe each country in particular, begin- 
ning with Elis. 



CHAPTER III. 



1 . At present the whole sea-coast lying between the Achaei 
and Messenii is called Eleia, it stretches into the inland parts 
towards Arcadia at Pholoe, and the Azanes, and Parrhasii. 
Anciently it was divided into several states ; afterwards 
into two, Elis of the Epeii, and Elis under Nestor, the son of 
Neleus. As Homer says, who mentions Elis of the Epeii by 
name, 

" Sacred Elis, where the Epeii rule." 

The other he calls Pylus subject to Nestor, through which, he 
says, the Alpheius flows : 

" Alpheius, that flows in a straight line through the land of the Pylians." ' 
The poet was also acquainted with a city Pylus ; 

" They arrived at Pylus, the well-built city of Neleus." ' 
The Alpheius however does not flow through nor beside the 
city, but another river flows beside it, which some call 
Pamisus, others Amathus, from which Pylus seems to be 
termed Emathoeis, but the Alpheius flows through the Eleian 
territory. 

2. Elis, the present city, was not yet founded in the time 
of Homer, but the inhabitants of the country lived in villages. 
It was called Coele [or Hollow] Elis, from the accident of its 
locahty, for the largest and best part of it is situated in a 
hollow. It was at a late period, and after the Persian war, 
that the people collected together out of many demi, or 

Groskurd. The Gulf of CoriBth.-i»r^in:'^J^Wf~fa,ssages, called by Strabo 

the Cris.saean Gulf. ' "^ 

» Od. xv.^!9a. « II. V. 545. » Od. iii. 4. 



o STRABO. Casaitb. 337. 

.burghs, into one citj. And, with the exception of a few, the 
other places in the Peloponnesus which the poet enumerates 
are not to be called cities, but districts. Each contained several 
assemblages of demi or burghs, out of which the famous 
cities were afterwards formed, as Mantineia in Arcadia, which 
was furnished with inhabitants from five burghs by Argives ; 

Tegea from nine ; Heraea from as many during the reign of 

Cleombrotus, or Cleonymus ; ^gium out of seven, or eight ; 
Patrae out of seven ; Dyme out of eight ; thus Elis also was 
formed out of the surrounding burghs. The deraus of the 
Agriades was one of those added to it. The Peneius ^ flows 
through the city by the Gymnasium, which the Eleii con- 
structed long after the countries which were subject to Nestor 
had passed into their possession. 

3. These were the Pisatis, of which Olympia is a part, and 
Triphylia, and the territory of the Caucones. The Triphylii 
had their name from the accident of the union of three tribes ; 
of the Epeii, the original inhabitants; of the Minyai, who 
afterwards settled there ; and last of all of the Eleii, who 
made themselves masters of the country. Instead of the Minyas 
some writers substitute Arcadians, who had frequently dis- 
puted the possession of the territory, whence Pylus had the 
epithet Arcadian as well as Triphylian. Homer calls all this 
tract as far as Messene by the name of Pylus, the name of the 
city. The names of the chiefs, and of their abodes in the 
Catalogue of the Ships, show that Coele Elis, or the Hollow 

J-^' Elis, was distinct from the country subject to Nestor. 
^\ f\' I say this on comparing the present places with Homer's 
^ ytd ^®scription of them, for we must compare one with the other 
^ t^ ^ in consideration of the fame of the poet, and our being bred 
V-jsK- "P ^^ ^^ acquaintance with his writings ; and every one will 

yS? |\ conclude that our present inquiry is rightly conducted, if 

/ )j^y ^ nothing is found repugnant to his accounts of places, which 
ip jjV' have been received with the fullest reliance on their credi- 

Ibility and his veracity. 
We must describe these places as they exist at present, and 
as they are represented by the poet, comparing them together 
as far as is required by the design of this work. 

4. The Araxus is a promontory of Eleia situated on the 
north, 60 stadia from Dyme, an Achaean city. This promontory 

' Igliaco. 



B. vm. c. III. § 5. GREECE. ELIS. 9 

we consider the commencement of the coast of Eleia. Pro- 
ceeding thence towards the west is Cyllene,i the naval arsenal 
of the Eleii, from whence is an ascent of 120 stadia to the pre- 
sent city. This Cyllene Homer mentions in these words, 

" Cyllenian Otus, chief of the Epeii," 
for he would not have given the title of chief of Epeii to one 
who came from the Arcadian mountain of this name. It is a 
village of moderate size, in which is preserved the JEsculapius 
of Colotes, a statue of ivorj, of admirable workmanship. 

Next to CjUene is the promontory Chelonatas,^ the most 
westerly point of the Peloponnesus. In front of it there is a 
small island and shoals on the confines of Hollow EHs, and the 
territory of the Pisatae. From hence [Cyllene] to Cephallenia 
is a voyage of not more than 80 stadia. Somewhere on the 
above-mentioned confines is the river Elisson, or Elissa. 

5. Between the Chelonatas and Cyllene the river Peneius 
empties itself, and that also called by the poet Selleis, which 
flows from the mountain Pholoe. On this river is situated 
Ephyra, a city to be distinguished from the Thesprotian, 
Thessalian, and Corinthian Ephyras ; being a fourth city of 
this name, situated on the road leading to the Lasion sea- 
coast, and which may be either the same place as Boeonoa, 
(for it is the custoni to call CEnoe by this name,) or a city 
near this, distant from Elis 120 stadia. This Ephyra seems 
to be the reputed birth-place of Astyochea, the mother of Tle- 
polemus, the son of Hercules, 

"Whom Hercules brought from Ephyra, from the river Selleis;"^ 
(for this was the principal scene of the adventures of Her- 
cules ; at the other places called Ephyra, there is no river 
Selleis ;) hence came the armour of Meges, 
" Which Phyleus formerly brought from Ephyra, from the river Selleis;" * 

from this Ephyra came also mortal poisons. For Minerva 
says, that Ulysses went to Ephyra 

'* In search of a mortal poison wherewith to anoint his arrows :" ' 
And the suitors say of Telemachus ; 

" Or he will go to the rich country of Ephyra to bring back poison de- 
structive of our lives." ' 



Chiarenza, in ruins. ^ Cape Tornese. ' H- ii. 650. 

♦ 11. XV. 531. * Od. i. 2G1. « Od. ii. 328. 



10 STRABO. Casaub. 338. 

And Nestor introduces the daughter of Augeas, king of the 
Epeii, in his account of the war with that people, as one who 
administered poisons : 

" I first slew a man,' Mulius, a brave soldier. He was son-in-law of 
Augeas ; he had married his eldest daughter ; she was acquainted with 
all the poisons which the earth brings forth." 

There is also near Sicyon a river, Selleis, and a village of 
the name of Ephyra near it; and a village Ephyra in the 
territory of Agraea in ^tolia, the people of which are called 
Ephyri. There are also other Ephyri among the Perrhasbi 
near Macedonia, who are Crannonians,^ and the Thesprotic 
Ephyri of Cichyrus, which was formerly called Ephyra. 

6. ApoUodorus, when he informs us in what manner the 
poet usually distinguishes places with the same names, as 
Orchomenus for instance, designating that in Arcadia by the 
epithet, "abounding with sheep;" the Boeotian Orchomenus, 
as "Minyeius;" by applying to Samos the term Thracian, 
and adds, 

" Between Samos and Imbros," ' 
to distinguish it from Ionian Samos ; so he says the Thes- 
protic Ephyra is distinguished from others by the words, " at 
a distance," and "from the river Selleis." This does not 
agree with what Demetrius of Scepsis says, from whom he 
borrows most of his information. For Demetrius does not 
say that there is a river Selleis in Thesprotia, but in Elis, 
near the Thesprotic Ephyra, as I have said before. 

What he says also about CEchalia requires examination, 
where he asserts that the city of Eurytus of CEchalia is the 
only city, when there is more than one city of that name. It 
is therefore evident that he means the Thessalian city men- 
tioned by Homer : 

" And they who occupied CEchalia, the city of Eurytus, the CEchalian." * 
What city, then, is that on the road from which " Thamyris 

» II. xi. 738. 

2 I read oi kuI, as Meineke suggests, but the whole passage from "there 
is " to " Ephyra," is, as he also remarks, probably an interpolation. Strabo 
has already enumerated four cities of the name of Ephyra, viz. the Eliac, 
the Thesprotic, the Corinthian, and the Thessalian ; yet here two others 
are presented to our notice, the Sicyonian and the ^Etolian, of which 
Strabo makes no mention in his account of JStolia and Sicyonia. 

3 II. xxiv. 78. * II. ii. 730. 



B. VIII. c. III. § 7. GREECE. ELIS. PYLUS. H 

the Thracian was met by the Muses, and deprived of the 
power of song," for he says, 

" Coming from CEchalia, from the dwelling of Eurytus, the CEchalian.'" 
If this were the city in Thessaly, the Scepsian is mistaken in 
mentioning some city in Arcadia, which is now called Andania. 
If he is n'ot mistaken, still the Arcadian CEchalia is said to 
be the city of Eurytus, so that there is not one city only of 
that name, although Apollodorus asserts that there is but one. 
7. There existed between the mouths of the Peneius and 
the Selleis near Scollis, a Pylus, not the city of Nestor, but 
another of that name, having nothing in common with that 
on the Alpheius, nor even with that on the Pamisus, or, if 
we must so call it, the Amathus. Some writers, through their 
soHcitude for the fame and noble descent of Nestor, give a 
forced meaning to these words. Since there are three places 
in Peloponnesus of the name of Pylus, (whence the saying 
originated, 

*' There is a Pylus in front of Pylus, and still there is another Pylus,") 
namely, this and the Lepreatic Pylus in Triphylia, and a 
third, the Messeniac near Coryphasium,^ the advocates for 
each place endeavour to show that the river in his own coun- 
try is (Emathois) iifiadoeig, or sandy, and declare that to be 
the country of Nestor. 

The greater number of other writers, both historians and 
poets, say, that Nestor was a Messenian, assigning as his birth- 
place the Pylus, which continued to exist to their times. 
Those, however, who adhere to Homer and follow his poem as 
their guide, say, that the Pylus of Nestor is where the terri- 
tory is traversed by the Alpheius. Now this river passes 
through the Pisatis and Triphylia. The inhabitants of the 
Hollow EHs were emulous of the same honour respecting the 
Pylus in their own country, and point out distinctive marks, 
as a place called Gerenus, and a river Geron, and another 
river Geranius, and endeavour to confirm this opinion by 
pretending that Nestor had the epithet Gerenius from these 
places. 

The Messenians argue in the very same manner, but ap- 

1 Ti :; ^Qi 

2 This' is supposed to be the modem Navarino. The Coryphasium is 
Mount St. Nicholas. G. 



12 STRABO. Casaub. 340. 

parently with more probability on their side. For they say, 

that in their territory there is a place better known, called 

Gerena, and once well inhabited. 

Such then is the present state of the Hollow Elis.^ 

8. The poet however, after having divided the country into 

four parts, and mentioned the four chiefs, does not clearly 

express himself, when he says : 

"those who inhabit Buprasium and the sacred Elis, all whom Hyrmine 
and Myrsinus, situated at the extremity of the territory and the Olenian 
rock, and Aleisium contain, these were led by four chiefs ; ten swift vessels 
accompanied each, and multitudes of Epeii Avere embarked in them."* 

For, by applying the name Epeii to both people, the Bupra- 
sians and the Eleii, and by never applying the name Eleii to 
the Buprasians, he may seem to divide, not Eleia, but the 
country of the Epeii, into four parts, which he had before 
divided into two ; nor would Buprasium then be a part of Elis, 
but rather of the country of the Epeii. For that he terms 
the Buprasians Epeii, is evident from these words : 

" As when the Epeii were burying King Amarynces at Buprasium."^ 
Again, by enumerating together "Buprasium and. sacred 
Elis," and then by making a fourfold division, he seems to 
arrange these very four divisions in common under both Bu- 
prasium and Elis. 

Buprasium, it is probable, was a considerable settlement in 
Eleia, which does not exist at present. But the territory only 
has this name, which lies on the road to Dyme from Elis the 
present city. It might be supposed that Buprasium had at 
that time some superiority over Elis, as the Epeii had over 
the Eleii, but afterwards they had the name of Eleii instead 
of Epeii. 

Buprasium then was a part of Elis, and they say, that 
Homer, by a poetical figure, speaks of the whole and of the 
part together, as in these lines : 

"through Greece and the middle of Argos;"* "through Greece and 
Pthia;"* " the Curetes and the ^Etoli were fighting;"® "those from 
Dulichium and the sacred Echinades;''^ 

for Dulichium is one of the Echinades. Modern writers also 
use this figure, as Hipponax, 

» KoiXr] "HXic, or Coele-Elis. » II. ii. 615. » II. xxiii. 630. 

* Od. L 344. * Od. ii. 496. « II. ix. 529. ' II. ii. 625. 



B. VIII. c. III. § 9, 10. GREECE. ELIS. 13 

" they eat the bread of the Cyprians and the wheat of the Amathusii ; " 
for the Amathusii are Cyprians : and Alcman ; 
" leaving the beloved Cyprus, and Paphos, washed on all sides by the sea :" 
and ^schylus ; 

"possessing as your share by lot the whole of Cyprus and Paphos." 

If Homer has not called the Buprasii by the name of Eleii, 
we shall reply, nor has he mentioned many other places and 
things which exist. For this is not a proof that they did not 
exist, but only that he has not mentioned them. 

9. But Hecataeus of Miletus says, that the Epeii are a 
different people from the Eleii ; that the Epeii accompanied 
Hercules in his expedition against Augeas, and joined him in 
destroying Elis, and defeating Augeas. He also says, that 
Dyme was both an Epeian and an Achaean city. 

The ancient historians, accustomed from childhood to 
falsehood through the tales of mythologists, speak of many 
things that never existed. Hence they do not even agree 
with one another, in their accounts of the same things. 
Not that it is improbable that the Epeii, although a dif- 
ferent people and at variance with the Eleii, when they 
had gained the ascendency, united together, forming a com- 
mon state, and their power extended even as far as Dyme. 
The poet does not mention Dyme, but it is not improbable 
that at that time it was subject to the Epeii, and afterwards 
to the lones, or perhaps not even to this people, but to the 
Achaei, who were in possession of the country of the lones. 

Of the four portions, which include Buprasium, Hyrmine 
and Myrsinus belong to the territory of Eleia. The rest, 
according to the opinion of some writers, are situated close 
on the borders of the Pisatis. 

10. Hyrmine was a small town, which exists no longer, 
but there is a mountainous promontory near Cyllene, called 
Hormina or Hyrmina. 

Myrsinus is the present Myrtuntium, a settlement extend- 
ing to the sea, and situated on the road from Dyme to Elis, at 
the distance of 70 stadia from the city of the Eleii. 

It is conjectured that the Olenian rock is the present Scollis. 
For we might mention probable conjectures, since both places 
and names have undergone changes, and the poet himself 
does not explain his meaning clearly in many passages. 



14 STRABO. Casaub. 341. 

Scollis is a rocky mountain, common to the Dymaei, and 
Tritaeenses, and Eleii, situated close to Lampeia, another moun- 
tain in Arcadia, which is distant from Elis 130 stadia, from 
Tritaea 100, and an equal number [from Dyme] Achaean cities. 

Aleisium is the present Alesia3um, a place near Amphidolis, 
where the neighbouring people hold a market every month. 
It is situated upon the mountain road leading from Elis to 
Olympia. Formerly, it was a city of the Pisatis, the bound- 
aries of the country being different at different times on ac- 
count of the change of masters. The poet also calls Aleisium, 
the hill of Aleisius, when he says, 

" Till we broTight our horses to Buprasium rich in grain, and to the 
Olenian rock, and to the place which is called the hill of Aleisium," ' 

for we must understand the words by the figure hyperbaton. 
Some also point out a river Aleisius. 

11. Since a tribe of Caucones is mentioned in Triphylia 
near Messenia, and as Dyme is called by some writers 
Cauconis, apd since between Dyme and Tritaea in the Dymaean 
district there is also a river called Caucon, a question arises 
respecting the Caucones, whether there are two nations of this 
name, one situate about Triphylia, and another about Dyme, 
Elis, and Caucon. This river empties itself into another 
which is called Teutheas, in the masculine gender, and is the 
name of a small town that was one of those that composed 
Dyme ; except that the town is of the feminine gender, and is 
pronounced Teuthea, without the s, and the last syllable is long. 

There is a temple of Diana Nemydia (Nemeasa?). The 
Teutheas discharges itself into the Achelous, which runs by 
Dyme, and has the same name as that in Acarnania, and the 
name also of Peirus. In the lines of Hesiod, 

" he lived near the Olenian rock on the banks of the broad Peirus," 
some change the last word Ueipoio to Uwpoio, but improperly. 

^ [But it is the opinion of some writers, who make the 
Caucones a subject of inquiry, that when Minerva in the 
Odyssey, who has assumed the form of Mentor, says to Nestor ; 

" At sun-rise I go to the magnanimous Caucones, where a debt neither of 
a late date nor of small amount is owing to me.^ When Telemachus 
comes to thy house send him with thy son, thy chariot, and thy horses ;" 

» II. ii. 756. 

' — * This passage in brackets is an interpolation to explain the subse- 
quent inquiry who the Caucones were. Kramer. ^ II. iii. 636. 



B. vm. c. III. § 12. GREECE. ELIS. 15 

a certain district in the territory of the Epeii appears to be 
designated, which the Caucones, a different nation from that 
in Triphylia, possessed, and who perhaps extended even as far 
as the Dymean territory.] But it was not proper to omit, 
whence Dyme had the name Cauconitis, nor why the river was 
called Caucon, because the question is, who the Caucones^ 
were, to whom Minerva says, she is going to recover a debt. 
For if we understand the poet to mean those in Triphylia 
about Lepreum, I know not how this is probable ; whence 
some persons even write the passage, 

" where a large debt is owing to me in the sacred Elis." 
This will appear more clearly, when we describe the Pisatis, 
and after it Triphylia as far as the confines of Messenia. 

12. Next to the Chelonatas is the long tract of coast of the 
Pisatae ; then follows a promontory, Pheia ; there was also a 
small town of this name ; 

" by the walls of Pheia about the stream of the Jardanes," * 
for there is a small river near it. 

Some writers say, that Pheia is the commencement of the 
Pisatis. In front of Pheia is a small island and a harbour ; 
thence to Olympia by sea, which is the shortest way, is 
120 stadia. Then immediately follows another promontory, 
[Icthys,] projecting very far towards the west, like the 
Chelonatas; from this promontory to Cephallenia are 120 
stadia. Next the Alpheius discharges itself, at the distance 
from the Chelonatas of 280, and from the Araxus of 545, 
stadia. It flows from the same places as the Eurotas. There 
is a village of the name of Asea in the Megalopolitis, where 
the two sources, whence the above-mentioned rivers issue, are 
near to one another. After running under the earth the dis- 
tance of many stadia, they then rise to the surface, when one 
takes its course to Laconia, the other to the Pisatis. The 
Eurotas reappears at the commencement of the district Ble- 
minates, flowing close beside Sparta, and passing through a 
long valley near Helos, which the poet mentions, empties itself 
between Gythium, the naval arsenal of Sparta, and Acrsea. 
But the Alpheius, after receiving the Celadon, (Ladon ?) and 
Erymanthus, and other obscure streams, pursues its course 
through Phrixa, and the Pisatis, and Triphylia, close to Olympia, 

' Book vii. ch. vii. 2. » II. vii. 135. 



16 STRABO. Casaub. 343- 

and discharges itself into the Sicilian Sea between Pheia and 
Epitalium. At its mouth, and at the distance of 80 stadia 
from Olympia, is situated the grove of Artemis Alpheionia, 
or Alpheiusa, for both words are in use. At Olympia an 
annual festival, to which multitudes resort, is celebrated in 
honour of this goddess, as well as of Diana Elaphia and 
Diana Daphnia. The whole country is full of temples dedi- 
cated to Diana, and Aphrodite, and the Nymphs, which are 
situated amidst flowery groves, and generally where there is 
abundance of water. Hermeia, or images of Mercury, are 
frequently met with on the road, and on the sea-shore, temples 
dedicated to Neptune. In the temple of Diana Alpheionia 
are pictures by Cleanthes and Aregon, Corinthian painters ; 
the former has depicted the taking of Troy, and the birth of 
Minerva ; the latter, Diana borne upon a griffin ; which are 
highly esteemed. 

13. Next is the mountain, which separates Macistia in 
Triphylia from the Pisatis ; then follows another river Chalcis, 
and a spring called Cruni, and Chalcis a village, and next to 
these the Samicum, where is the temple of the Samian Nep- 
tune, which is held in the highest honour. There is also a 
grove full of wild olive trees. It was intrusted to the care 
of the Macistii, whose business it was to announce the Samian 
truce as it is called. All the Triphylii contribute to the temple. 

[The temple of the Scilluntian Minerva at Scillus in the 
neighbourhood of Olympia, opposite the Phellon, is among 
the celebrated temples.]^ 

14. Near these temples, at the distance of 30 stadia, or a 
little more, above the sea-coast, is situated the Triphyliac, or 
Lepreatic, Pylus, which the poet calls Emathoeis, or Sandy, 
and transmits to us as the native country of Nestor, as may 
be collected from his poetry. It had the epithet Emathoeis 
either from the river, which flows by the city towards the 
north, and was formerly called Amathus, but now Mamaus, 
or Arcadicus ; or because this river was called Pamisus, the 
same name as that of two rivers in Messenia, while with 
respect to the city, the epithet Emathoeis, or sandy, is of un- 
certain origin, since it is not the fact, it is said, that either 
the river or the country abounds with sand. 

' This passage is transposed from the following section, as proposed by 
Groskurd. 



B. VIII. c. III. § 15, 16. ELIS. 17 

Towards the east is a mountain near Pylus, named after 
Minthe, who, according to the fable, was the mistress of 
Hades, and being deluded by Proserpine, was transformed 
into the garden mint, which some call hedyosmus, or the 
sweet-smelling mint. There is also near the mountain an en- 
closure, sacred to Hades, held in great veneration by the 
Macistii; and a grove dedicated to Ceres, situated above the- 
Pyliac plain. This plain is fertile, and situated close to the 
sea-coast ; it extends along the interval between the Samicum 
and the river Neda. The sea-shore is sandy and narrow, so 
that no one could be censured for asserting that Pylus was 
called " sandy " from this tract. 

15. Towards the north there were two small Triphyliac 
towns, Hypana and Typaneae, bordering upon Pylus ; the 
former of which was incorporated with Elis, the other re- 
mained separate. Two rivers flow near, the Dalion and the 
Acheron, and empty themselves into the Alpheius. The 
Acheron has its name from its relation to Hades. For at that 
place were held in extraordinary reverence the temples of 
Ceres, Proserpine, and Hades, perhaps on account of the con- 
trariety of the properties of the country, which Demetrius 
of Scepsis mentions. For Triphylia is fertile, but the soil is 
subject to mildew, and produces rushes,^ whence in these 
places, instead of the product being large, there is frequently 
no crop whatever. 

16. Towards the south of Pylus is Lepreum. This also 
was a city, situated 40 stadia above the sea-coast. Between 
the Lepreum and the Annius (Anigrus ? Alphaeus ?) is the 
temple of the Samian Neptune. These places are distant 100 
stadia from each other. This is the temple in which the poet 
says that the Pylii were found by Telemachus engaged in 
offering sacrifice : 

" They came to Pylus, the well-built city of Neleus ; the people were 
sacrificing on the sea-shore bulls, entirely black, to Neptune, the god of 
the dark locks, who shakes the earth." ^ 

For the poet was at liberty to feign things which did not 
exist, but when it is possible to adapt poetry to reality, and 

' 9pvov, the meaning of this word is uncertain; Meyer in his "Bo- 
tanische erklarung " of Strabo does not attempt to explain it. 
2 Od. iii. 4. 



18 STRABO. Casaub. 345. 

preserve tlie narrative .... it is better to abstain from 
fiction. 

The Lepreatce possessed a fertile country, on the confines of 
which were situated the Cyparissenses. But Caucones were 
masters of both these tracts, and even of the Macistus, which 
some call Platanistus. The town has the same name as the 
territory. It is said, that in the Lepreatis there is even a 
monument of a Caucon, who had the name of the nation, 
either because he was a chief, or for some other reason. 

17. There are many accounts respecting the Caucones. 
They are said to be an Arcadian tribe, like the Pelasgi, and 
also, like them, a wandering people. Thus the poet relates, 
that they came as auxiliaries to the Trojans, but from what 
country he does not mention, but it is supposed from Paphla- 
gonia. For in that country there is a tribe of the name of 
Cauconiatae, that border upon the Mariandyni, who are them- 
selves Paphlagonians. We shall say more of them when we 
describe that country.^ 

At present I must add some remarks concerning the 
Caucones in Triphylia. For some writers say, that the 
whole of the present Elis, from Messenia to Dyme, was called 
Cauconia. Antimachus calls them all Epeii and Caucones. 
But some writers say that they did not possess the whole 
country, but inhabited it when they were divided into two 
bodies, one of which settled in Triphylia towards Messenia, 
the other in the Buprasian district towards Dyme, and in 
the Hollow Elis. And there, and not in any other place, 
Aristotle considered them to be situated. The last opinion 
agrees better with the language of Homer, and the preceding 
question is resolved. For Nestor is supposed to have lived at 
the Triphyliac Pylus, the parts of which towards the south 
and the east (and these coincide towards Messenia and La- 
conia) was the country subject to Nestor, but the Caucones 
now occupy it, so that those who are going from Pylus to 
Lacedaemon must necessarily take the road through the 
Caucones. The temple of the Samian Neptune, and the 
naval station near it, where Telemachus landed, incline to the 
west and to the north. If then the Caucones lived there only, 
the account of the poet must be erroneous. 

* Book xii. c. 3, 4. Little, however, can be obtained of their history, 
which is buried in the same obscurity as the Pelasgi and Leleges. 



B. VIII. c. III. § 18, 19. ELIS. 19 

[For, according to Sotades, Minerva enjoins Nestor to send 
his son with Telemachus in a chariot to Lacedaemon towards 
the east, while she herself returns back to the west, to pass the 
night in the vessel ; 

"but at sun-rise she sets out to the magnanimous Caucones," 

to obtain payment of the debt, in a forward direction. How 
then are we to reconcile these opinions? for Nestor might 
say, " The Caucones are my subjects, and lie directly in the 
road of persons who are going to Lacedaemon ; why then 
do you not accompany Telemachus and his friends on his 
journey, but take a road in an opposite direction?" Besides, 
it was natural for one, who was going to recover payment of 
a debt, and that a considerable sum, as she says, from a people 
under the command of Nestor, to request some assistance from 
him in case they should be so unjust, as usually happens, as to 
refuse to discharge it. But she did not do this. 

If therefore the Caucones are to be found in one situation 
only, these absurdities would follow. But if one division of 
this tribe occupied the places in Elis near Dyme, Minerva 
might be said to direct her journey thither, and even the 
return to the ship would not be absurd, nor the separation 
from the company of Telemachus, when her road was in an 
opposite direction. 

The question respecting Pylus may perhaps be resolved in 
a similar manner, when we come, as we proceed, to the de- 
scription of the Messenian Pylus. ^] 

18. There is also, it is said, a nation, the Paroreatse, who 
occupy, in the hilly district of Triphylia, the mountains, 
which extend from about Lepreum and Macistum to the sea 
near the Samian grove sacred to Neptune. 

19. Below these people on the coast are two caves ; one, of 
the nymphs Anigriades ; the other, the scene of the adventures 
of the Atlantides,^ and of the birth of Dardanus. There 
also are the groves, both the lonseum and Eurycydeium. 

Samicum is a fortress. Formerly there was a city of the 
name of Samos, which perhaps had its designation from its 

* This passage is an interpolation by the same hand probably as that 
in s. 11. Cramer. 

2 Uardanus was the son of Jupiter and Electra, one of the seven, 
daughters of Atlas, surnamed Atlantides. 

c 2 



20 STRABO. Casaub. 346. 

height, since they called heights Sami ; perhaps also this was 
the acropolis of Arene, which the poet mentions in the 
Catalogue of the Ships ; 

" who inhabited Pylus, and the pleasant Arene ;" * 

for as the position of Arene has not been clearly discovered 
anywhere, it is conjectured, that it was most probably situ- 
ated where the adjoining river Anigrus, formerly called 
Minyeius, empties itself. As no inconsiderable proof of this, 
Homer says, 

" There is a river Minyeius, which empties itself into the sea, near Arene.'" 

Now near the cave of the nymphs Anigriades is a fountain, 
by which the subjacent country is rendered marshy, and filled 
with pools of water. The Anigrus however receives the great- 
er part of the water, being deep, but with so little current 
that it stagnates. The place is full of mud, emits an offensive 
smell perceptible at a distance of 26 stadia, and renders the 
fish unfit for food. Some writers give this fabulous account 
of these waters, and attribute the latter effect to the venom 
of the Hydra, which some of the Centaurs ^ washed from 
their wounds ; others say, that Melampus used these cleansing 
waters for the purification of the Proetades.'* They are a 
cure for alphi, or leprous eruptions, and the white tetter, and 
the leichen. They say also that the Alpheus had its name 
from its property of curing the disease alphi.^ 

Since then the sluggishness of the Anigrus, and the recoil 
of the waters of the sea, produce a state of rest rather than a 
current, they say, that its former name was Minyeius, but 
that some persons perverted the name and altered it to 
Mintei'us. The etymology of the name may be derived from 
other sources ; either from those who accompanied Chloris, 
the mother of Nestor, from the Minyeian Orchomenus ; or, 

I II. ii. 591. 2 XL ii. 721. 

3 Hercules, after killing the Hydra, dipped the arrows which he after- 
wards made use of against the Centaurs, in gall of this monster. Pau- 
sanias, however, speaks of one Centaur only, Chiron, or, according to 
others, Polenor, who washed his wounds in the Anigrus. 

* The daughters of Proetus. According to ApoUodorus, Melampus 
cured them of madness, probably the effect of a disease of the skin. 

* Alphi, Lepra alphoides. Leuce, white tetter or common leprosy. 
Leichen, a cutaneous disease tending to leprosy. 



B. VIII. c. III. § 20, 21. ELIS. ' ♦ 21 

from the Minyge descendants of the Argonauts, who were 
banished from Lemnos, and went to Lacedaemon, and thence 
to Triphylia, and settled about Arene, in the country now 
called Hypaesia, which however no longer contains places 
built by the Minyse. 

Some of these people, with Theras the son of Autesion, 
who was a descendant of Polynices, having set sail to the 
country between Cyrenaea and the island of Crete, " formerly 
Calliste, but afterwards called Thera," according to Callima- 
chus, founded Thera, the capital of Cyrene, and gave the 
same name to the city, and to the island. 

20. Between the Anigrus and the mountain from which 
the Jardanes rises, a meadow and a sepulchre are shown, 
and the Achasas, which are rocks broken off from the same 
mountain, above which was situated, as I have said, the 
city Samos. Samos is not mentioned by any of the authors 
of Peripli, or Circumnavigations; because perhaps it had 
been long since destroyed, and perhaps also on account of its 
position. For the Poseidium is a grove, as I have said, near 
the sea, a lofty eminence rises above it, situated in front of the 
present Samicum, where Samos once stood, so that it cannot 
be seen from the sea. 

Here also is the plain called Samicus, from which we may 
further conjecture that there was once a city Samos. 

According to the poem Rhadine, of which Stesichorus 
seems to have been the author, and which begins in this 
manner. 



" Come, tuneful Muse, Erato, begin the melodious song, in praise of the 
lovely Samian youths, sounding the strings of the delightful lyre : " 

these youths were natives of this Samos. For he says that 
Rhadine being given in marriage to the tyrant, set sail from 
Samos to Corinth with a westerly wind, and therefore cer- 
tainly not from the Ionian Samos. By the same wind her 
brother, who was archi-theorus, arrived at Delphi. Her 
cousin, who was in love with her, set out after her in a 
chariot to Corinth. The tyrant put both of them to death, 
and sent away tfie bodies in a chariot, but changing his mind, 
he recalled the chariot, and buried them. 

21. From this Pylus and the Lepreum to the Messenian 
Pylus ^ and the Coryphasium, fortresses situated upon the sea, 

' The position of Pylus of Messenia is uncertain. D'Anville places it 



22 * STRABO. Casaub. 348. 

and to the adjoining island Sphagia, is a distance of about 
400 stadia, and from the Alpheius a distance of 750, and 
from the promontory Chelonatas 1030 stadia. In the inter- 
vening distance are the temple of the Macistian Hercules, 
and the river Acidon, which flows beside the tomb of Jardanus, 
and Chaa, a city which was once near Lepreum, where also is 
the ^pasian plain. It was for this Chaa, it is said, that the 
Arcadians and Pylians went to war with each other, which 
war Homer has mentioned, and it is thought that the verse 
ought to be written, 

" Oh that I were young as when multitudes of Pylii, and of Arcades, 
handling the spear, fought together at the swift-flowing Acidon near the 
walls of Chaa," ' 

not Celadon, nor Pheia, for this place is nearer the tomb of 
Jardanus and the Arcades than the other. 

22. On the Triphylian Sea are situated Cyparissia, and 
Pyrgi, and the rivers Acidon and Neda. At present the 
boundary of Triphylia towards Messenia is the impetuous 
stream of the N^da descending from the LycaBus, a mountain 
of Arcadia, and rising from a source which, according to the 
fable, burst forth to furnish water in which Rhea was to wash 
herself after the birth of Jupiter. It flows near Phigalia, and 
empties itself into the sea where the Pyrgitae, the extreme 
tribe of the Triphylii, approach the Cyparissenses, the first of 
the Messenian nation. But, anciently, the country had other 
boundaries, so that the dominions of Nestor included some 
places on the other side of the Neda, as the Cyparissei's, and 
some others beyond that tract, in the same manner as the poet 
extends the Pylian sea as far as the seven cities, which Aga- 
memnon promised to Achilles, 

" All near the sea bordering upon the sandy Pylus," ^ 
which is equivalent to, near the Pylian sea. 

23. Next in order to the Cyparissei's in traversing the 
coast towards the Messenian Pylus and the Coryphasium, we 
meet with Erana, (Eranna,) which some writers incorrectly 
suppose was formerly called Arene, by the same name as the 
Pylian city, and the promontory Platamodes, from which to 
the Coryphasium, and to the place at present called Pylus, are 

at New Navarino, Barbie de Bocage at Old Navarino. See also Ernst 
Curlius, Peloponnesus. 

» II. vii. 133. 2 II. ix. 153. 



B. VIII. c. III. § 24. ELIS. PYLUS. 23 

100 stadia.^ There is also a cenotaph and a small town in it 
both of the same name — Prote. 

We ought not perhaps to carry our inquiries so far into an- 
tiquity, and it might be sufficient to describe the present state 
of each place, if certain reports about them had not been de- 
livered down to us in childhood ; but as different writers give 
different accounts, it is necessary to examine them. The most 
famous and the most ancient writers being the first in point 
of personal knowledge of the places, are, in general, persons of 
the most credit. Now as Homer surpasses all others in these 
respects, we must examine what he says, and compare his 
descriptions with the present state of places, as we have just 
said. We have already considered his description of the 
Hollow Elis and of Buprasium. 

24. He describes the dominions of Nestor in these words : 

" And they who inhabited Pylus, and the beautiful Arene, and Thryum, 
a passage across the Alpheius, and the well-built iEpy, and Cyparisseis, 
and Amphigeneia, and Pteleum, and Helos, and Dorium, where the 
Muses having met with Thamyris the Thracian, deprived him of the 
power of song, as he was coming from CEchalia, from the house of Eurytus 
the CEchalian.2 

It is Pylus, therefore, to which the question relates, and we 
shall soon treat of it. We have already spoken of Arene. 
The places, which he here calls Thryum, in another passage 
he calls Thryoessa, 

" There is a city Thryoessa, lofty, situated on a hill, 
Far off, on the banks of the Alpheius." ^ 

He calls it the ford or passage of the Alpheius, because, ac- 
cording to these verses, it seems as if it could be crossed at 
this place on foot. Thryum is at present called Epitalium, a 
village of Macistia. 

With respect to evktitov ATttu, "^py the well-built," 
some writers ask which of these words is the epithet of the 
other, and what is the city, and whether it is the present Mar- 
galae of Amphidolia, but this Margalae is not a natural fortress, 
but another is meant, a natural strong-hold in Macistia. 
Writers who suppose this place to be meant, say, that ^py is 
the name of the city, and infer it from its natural properties, 
as in the example of Helos,'* -^gialos,^ and many others: 

• Some MSS. have 120 stadia. * II. ii. 591. ' II. xi. 710. 

* A marsh. * The sea-shore. 



24 STRABO. Casaub. 349. 

those who suppose Margalae to be meant here, will assert the 
contrary. 

Thryum, or Thryoessa, they say, is Epitalium, because all the 
country is dpvwdTjg, or sedgy, and particularly the banks of the 
rivers, but this appears more clearly at the fordable places of 
the stream. Perhaps Thryum is meant by the ford, and by 
" the well-built JEpj" Epitalium, which is naturally strong, 
and in the other part of the passage he mentions a lofty hill ; 
" The city Thryoessa, a lofty hill, 
Far away by the Alpheus." ' 

25. Cyparisseis is near the old Macistia, which then ex- 
tended even to the other side of the Neda, but it is not in- 
habited, as neither is Macistum. There is also another, the 
Messenian Cyparissia, not having quite the same name, but 
one like it. The city of Macistia is at present called Cypa- 
rissia, in the singular number, and feminine gender, but the 
name of the river is Cyparisseis. 

Amphigeneia, also belonging to Macistia, is near Hypsoeis, 
where is the temple of Latona. 

Pteleum was founded by the colony that came fromPteleum 
in Thessaly, for it is mentioned in this line, 

*' Antron on the sea-coast, and the grassy Pteleum." ^ 
It is a woody place, uninhabited, called Pteleasimum. 

Some writers say, that Helos was some spot near the 
Alpheius ; others, that it was a city like that in Laconia, 

" and Helos, a small city on the sea ; " ' 
others say that it is the marsh near Alorium, where is a 
temple of the Eleian Artemis, (Diana of the Marsh,) belong- 
ing to the Arcadians, for this people had the priesthood. 

Dorium is said by some authors to be a mountain, by others 
a plain, but nothing is now to be seen ; yet it is alleged, that 
the present Oluris, or Olura, situated in the Aulon, as it is 
called, of Messenia, is Dorium. Somewhere there also is 
CEchalia of Eurytus, the present Andania, a small Arcadian 
town of the same name as those in Thessaly and Euboea, 
whence the poet says, Thamyris, the Thracian, came to Do- 
rium, and was deprived by the Muses of the power of song. 

26. Hence it is evident that the country under the command 
of Nestor is on each side of the Alpheius, all of which tract 

» II. xi. 710. 2 II. ii. 697. 3 II, ii 584. 



B. VIII. c. III. § 27. ELIS. PYLUS. * 25 

lie calls the country of the Pylians, but nowhere does the 
Alpheius touch Messenia, nor the Hollow Elis.^ 

It is in this district that we have the native country of 
Nestor, which we call the Triphylian, the Arcadian, and the 
Lepreatic Pylus. For we know that other places of the name 
of Pylus are pointed out, situated upon the sea, but this is 
distant more than 30 stadia from it, as appears from the 
poem. A messenger is sent to the vessel, to the companions 
of Telemachus, — to invite them to a hospitable entertainment. 
Telemachus, upon his return from Sparta, does not permit 
Peisistratus to go to the city, but diverts him from it, and 
prevails upon him to hasten to the ship, whence it appears 
that the same road did not lead both to the city and to the 
haven. The departure of Telemachus may in this manner 
be aptly understood : 

" they went past Cruni, and the beautiful streams of Chalcis ; the sun 
set, and all the villages were in shade and darkness ; but the ship, ex- 
ulting in .the gales of Jove, arrived at Phese. She passed also the divine 
Elis, where the Epeii rule ;"2 

for to this place the direction of the vessel was towards the 
north, and thence it turns to the east. The vessel leaves its 
first and straight course in the direction of Ithaca, because the 
suitors had placed an ambush there, 
" In the strait between Ithaca and Samos, 
And from thence he directed the vessel to the sharp-pointed islands, 
vrjaotoi Ooyal ;" ' 

the sharp-pointed (o^lai) he calls doal. They belong to the 
Echinades, and are near the commencement of the Corinthian 
Gulf and the mouths of the Achelous. After having sailed 
past Ithaca so as to leave the island behind him, he turns to 
the proper course between Acarnania and Ithaca, and disem- 
barks on the other side of the island, not at the strait of 
Cephallenia, where the suitors were on the watch. 

27. If any one therefore should suppose that the Eleian 
Pylus is the Pylus of Nestor, the ship would not properly be 
said, after setting off thence, to take its course along Cruni 
and Chalcis, as far as the west, then to arrive by night at 
Pheas, and afterwards to sail along the territory of Eleia, for 

' In the discussion which follows, Strabo endeavours to prove, that 
the Pylus of Nestor is the Pylus of Triphylia, and not the Pylus of Mes- 
senia. 

2 Od. XV. 295. > 3 od. iv. 671 : xv. 298. 



26 STRABO. Casaub. 351. 

these places are to the south of Eleia, first Phese, then Chalcis, 
then Crunt, then the TriphyHan Pylus, and the Samicum. 
In sailing then to the south from the Eleian Pjlus this would 
be the course. In sailing to the north, where Ithaca lies, all 
these places are left behind, but they must sail along Eleia 
itself, and before, although he says after, sun-set. Again, on 
the other side, if any one should suppose the Messenian Pylus 
and the Coryphasium to be the commencement of the voyage 
after leaving the country of Nestor, the distance would be 
great, and would occupy more time. For the distance only 
to the Triphylian Pylus and the Samian Poseidium is 400 
stadia, and the voyage would not be along Cruni, and Chalcis, 
and Pheae, the names of obscure places and rivers, or rather 
of streams, but first along the Neda, then Acidon, next 
Alpheius, and the places and countries lying between these 
rivers, and lastly, if we must mention them, along the former, 
because the voyage was along the former places and rivers 
also. 

28. Besides, Nestor's account of the war between the 
Pylians and Eleians, which he relates to Patroclus, agrees 
with our arguments, if any one examines the lines. For he 
says there, that Hercules laid waste Pylus, and that all the 
youth were exterminated ; that out of twelve sons of Neleus, 
he himself alone survived, and was a very young man, and 
that the Epeii, despising Neleus on account of his old age 
and destitute state, treated the Pylians with haughtiness and 
insult. Nestor therefore, in order to avenge this wrong, collected 
as large a body of his people as he was able, made an inroad 
into Eleia, and carried away a large quantity of booty ; 
" Fifty herds of oxen, as many flocks of sheep, 
As many herds of swine," * 

and as many flocks of goats, an hundred and fifty brood 
mares, bay-coloured, most of which had foals, and "these," 
he says, 

" We drove away to Pylus, belonging to Neleus, 
By night towards the city;'"'' 

so that the capture of the booty, and the flight of those who 
came to the assistance of people who were robbed, hap- 
pened in the day-time, when, he says, he slew Itamon ; and 
they returned by night, so that they arrived by night at the 
» II. xi.677. » II. xi. 681. 



B. vm. c. m. § 29. ELIS. PYLUS. 27 

city. When they were engaged in dividing the booty, and in 
sacrificing, the Epeii, having assembled in multitudes, on the 
third day marched against them with an army of horse and 
foot, and encamped about Thryum, which is situated on the 
Alpheius. The Pylians were no sooner informed of this than 
they immediately set out to the relief of this place, and having 
passed the night on the river Minyeius near Arene, thence 
arrive at the Alpheius at noon. After sacrificing to the gods, 
and passing the night on the banks of the river, they imme- 
diately, in the morning, engaged in battle. The rout of the 
enemy was complete, and they did not desist from the pursuit 
and slaughter, till they came to Buprasium, 
" and tlie Olenian rock, where is a tumulus of Alesius, whence again 
Minerva repulsed the multitudes ; " ' 
and adds below, 

" but the Achsei 
Turned back their swift hOrses from Buprasium to Pylus." 

29. From these verses how can it be supposed that Eleian 
or Messenian Pylus is meant. I say the Eleian, because when 
this was destroyed by Hercules, the country of the Epeii also 
was ravaged at the same time, that is, Eleia. How then could 
those, who were of the same tribe, and who had been plun- 
dered at that time, show such pride and insult to persons, who 
were suffering under the same injuries? How could they 
overrun and ravage their own country ? How could Augeas 
and Neleus be kings of the same people, and yet be mutual 
enemies ; for to Neleus 

" a great debt was owing at the divine Elis; four horses, which had won 
the prize ; they came with their chariots to contend for prizes ; they were 
about to run in the race for a tripod ; and Augeas, king of men, detained 
them there, but dismissed the charioteer." ^ 

If Neleus lived there, there Nestor also lived. How then 
were there 

" four chiefs of Eleians and Buprasians, with ten swift ships accompany- 
ing each, and with many Epeii embarked in them ? " 

The country also was divided into four parts, none of which 
was subject to Nestor, but those tribes were under his com- 
mand, 

" who lived at Pylus, and the pleasant Arene," 
and at the places that follow next as far as Messene. 
> II. xi. 756. * 11. xi. 697. 



28 / STRABO. Casaub. 352. 

How came the Epeii, when marching against the Pylians, to 
set out towards the Alpheius and Thryum, and after being 
defeated there in battle, to fly to Buprasium ? But on the 
other side, if Hercules laid waste the Messenian Pylus, how 
could they, who were at such a distance, treat the Pylians 
with insult, or have so much intercourse and traffic with 
them, and defraud them by refusing to discharge a debt, so 
that war should ensue on that account? How too could 
Nestor, after having got, in his marauding adventure, so large 
a quantity of booty, a prey of swine and she^p, none of which 
are swift-footed, nor able to go a long journey, accomplish a 
march of more than 1000 stadia to Pylus near Coryphasium ? 
Yet all the Epeii arrive at Thryoessa and the river Alpheius 
on the third day, ready to lay siege to the strong-hold. How 
also did these districts belong to the chiefs of Messenia, when 
the Caucones, and Triphylii, and Pisatse occupied them ? 
But the territory Gerena, or Gerenia, for it is written both 
ways, might have a name which some persons applied de- 
signedly, or which might have originated even in accident. 

Since, however, Messenia was entirely under the dominion 

of Menelaus, to whom Laconia also was subject, as will be 

evident from what will be said hereafter, and since the rivers, 

the Pamisus and the Nedon, flow through this country, and 

not the Alpheius at all, which runs in a straight line through 

the country of the Pylians, of which Nestor was ruler, can 

that account be credible, by which it appears that one man 

r takes possession by force of the dominion of another, and 

n \ deprives him of the cities, which are said to be his property 

^\^\ ^ in the Catalogue of the Ships, and makes others subject to 

the usurper. 

30. It remains that we speak of Olympia, and of the 
manner in which everything fell into the power of the Eleii. 

The temple is in the district Pisatis, at the distance of less 
than 300 stadia from Elis. In front of it is a grove of wild 
olive trees, where is the stadium. The Alpheius flows beside 
it, taking its course out of Arcadia to the Triphylian Sea 
between the west and the south. The fame of the temple 
was originally owing to the oracle of the Olympian Jove ; 
yet after that had ceased, the renown of the temple con- 
tinued, and increased, as we know, to a high degree of cele- 
brity, both on account of the assembly of the people of Greece, 



fv 



B. VIII. c. III. § 30. ELIS. 29 

which was held there, and of the Olympic games, in which 
the victor was crowned. These games were esteemed sacred, 
and ranked above all others. The temple was decorated 
with abundance of offerings, the contributions of all Greece.- 
Among these offerings was a Jupiter of beaten gold, presented 
by Cypselus, the tyrant of Corinth. The largest was a 
statue of Jupiter in ivory, the worlkmanship of Phidias of 
Athens, the son of CJiarmides. Its height was so great, that 
although the temple is very large, the artist seems to have 
mistaken its proportions, and although he made the figure 
sitting, yet the head nearly touches the roof, and presents the 
appearance that, if it should rise, and stand upright, it would 
unroof the temple. Some writers have given the measure- 
ment of the statue, and Callimachus has expressed it in some 
iambic verses. Panasnus, the painter, his nephew, and joint 
labourer, afforded great assistance in the completion of the 
statue with respect to the colours with which it was orna- 
mented, and particularly the drapery. 

There are exhibited also many and admirable pictures 
around the temple, the work of this painter. It is recorded 
of Phidias, that to Panaenus, who was inquiring after what 
model he intended to form the figure of Jupiter, he replied, 
that it would be from that of Homer delineated in these words ; 

" He spoke, and gave the nod with his sable brows, the ambrosial hair 
shook on the immortal head of the king of gods, and vast Olympus 
trembled." * 

[This is well expressed, and the poet, as from other circum- 
stances, so particularly from the brows, suggests the thought 
that he is depicting some grand conception, and great power 
worthy of Jupiter. So also in his description of Juno, in 
both he preserves the peculiar decorum of each character, for 
he says, 

" she moved herself upon the throne, and shook vast Olympus : " ^ 
this was effected by the motion of her whole body, but 
Olympus shakes when Jupiter only nods with his brows, the 
hair of his head partaking of the motion. It was elegantly 
said [of Homer] that he was the only person who had 
seen and had made visible the figures of the gods.] ^ 

1 II. i. 528. ' II. viii. 199. 

^ Probably an interpolation. 



30 yiRABO. Casaub. 354. 

To the Eleii above all other people is to be ascribed the 
magnificence of the temple at Oljmpia, and the reverence in 
which it was held. For about the Trojan times, and even 
before that period, they were not in a flourishing state, having 
been reduced to a low condition by war with the Pylii, and 
afterwards by Hercules, when Augeas their king was over- 
thrown. The proof is this. The Eleii sent forty ships to 
Troy, but the Pylians and Nestor ninety; then after the 
return of the Heracleidae the contrary happened. For the 
jEtoli returning with the Heracleida3 under the command of 
Oxylus, became joint settlers with the Epeii, on the ground of 
ancient affinity. They extended the bounds of Hollow Elis, 
got possession of a large portion of the Pisatis, and subjected 
Olympia to their power. It was these people who invented 
the Olympic games,^ and instituted the first Olympiad. For 
we must reject the ancient stories both respecting the founda- 
tion of the temple, and the establishment of the games, some 
alleging that Hercules, one of the Idsean Dactyli, was the 
founder ; others, that the son of Alcmene and Jupiter founded 
them, who also was the first combatant and victor. For such 
y jf . ^ , things are variously reported, and not entitled to much credit. 



k\^''^-' 



"^ Jt is more probable, that from the first Olympiad,^ 'vchaft 

)(i>i'^''^ Coroebus the Eleian was the victor in the race in the stadium; 

^^^~the twenty-sixth, the Eleians presided over the temple, and 
' atjthe_games. But in the Trojan times, either there were no' 
games where^ crown was awarded, or they had not yet ac- 
quired any fame, neither these nor any of the games which 
are now so renowned. Homer does not speak of these games, 
but of others of a different kind, which were celebrated at 
funerals. Some persons however are of opinion that he does 
mention the Olympic games, when he says, that Augeas de- 
tained four victorious horses, which had been sent to contend 
for the prize. It is also said that the Pisatas did not take any 
part in the Trojan war, being considered as consecrated to the 
service of Jupiter. But neither was the Pisatis, the tract of 
country in which Olympia is situated, subject at that time to 
Augeas, but Eleia only, nor were the Olympic games cele- 

^ The establishment of the Olympic games is connected with-uiafty 
legends, and is involved in much obscurity. See Smith, Greek and Ro- 
man Antiq. ' - — 

2 776 B. c. 



B. Tin. c. in. § 31. ELIS. 31 

brated even once in the Elelan district, but always at Olympia. 
But the games, of which Homer speaks, seem to have taken 
place in Elis, where the debt was owing, 

" For a great debt was owing in the divine Elis, 
Namely, four victorious horses.'" 
But it was not in these, but in the Olympic games, that the 
victor was crowned, for here they were to contend for a tripod. 

After the twenty-sixth Olympiad, the Pisatas, having re- 
covered their territory, instituted games themselves, when 
they perceived that these games were obtaining celebrity. But 
in after-times, when the territory of the Pisatis reverted to the 
Eleii, the presidency and celebration of the games reverted 
to them also. The Lacedaemonians too, after the last defeat of 
the Messenians, co-operated with the Eleii as allies, contrary 
to the conduct of the descendants of Nestor and of the Arca- 
dians, who were allies of the Messenians. And they assisted 
them so effectually that all the country as far as Messene was 
called Eleia, and the name continues even to the present time. 
But of the Pisatas, and Triphylii, and Caucones, not even the 
names remain. They united also Pylus Emathoeis itself with 
Lepreum in order to gratify the Lepreatse, who had taken no 
part in the war. They razed many other towns, and imposed 
a tribute upon as many as were inclined to maintain their in- 
dependence. 

31. The Pisatis obtained the highest celebrity from the 
great power of its sovereigns, OEnomaus and his successor 
Pelops, and the number of their children. Salmoneus is said 
to have reigned there, and one of the eight cities, into which 
the Pisatis is divided, has the name of Salmone. For these 
reasons, and on account of the temple at Olympia, the fame 
of the country spread everywhere. 

We must however receive ancient histories, as not entirely 
agreeing with one another, for modern writers, entertaining 
different opinions, are accustomed to contradict them fre- 
quently ; as for example, according to some writers, Augeas 
was king of the Pisatis, and OEnomaus and Salmoneus kings 
of Eleia, while others consider the two nations as one. Still 
we ought to follow in general what is received as true, since 
writers are not agreed even upon the derivation of the word 
Pisatis. Some derive it from Pisa, (JiHaa,) a city of the same 
» II. xi. 677. 

\ ■ - 



32 STRABO. Casaub. 366. 

name as the fountain, and say that the fountain had that name, 
as much as to say Pistra, (IHarpa,) which means Potistra, 
{TTOTicTTpa,) or " potable." The city of Pisa is shown, situated 
on an eminence between two mountains, which have the same 
names as those in Thessaly, Ossa and Olympus. Some say, 
that there was no such city as Pisa, for it would have been 
one of the eight, but a fountain only, which is now called 
Bisa, near Cicysium, the largest of the eight cities. But 
Stesichorus calls the tract of country named Pisa, a city, as 
the poet calls Lesbos, a city of Macar ; and Euripides in the 
play of Ion says 

" Euboea is a neighbour city to Athens," 
and so in the play of Rhadamanthus, 

" they who occupy the land of EubcEa, an adjoining state ; " 
thus Sophocles also in the play of the Mysi, 

" stranger, all this country is called Asia, 
But the state of the Mysi is called Mysia." 

32. Salmone is near the fountain of the same name, the 
source of the Enipeus. It discharges itself into the Alpheius, 
[and at present it is called Barnichius.^] Tyro, it is said, 
was enamoured of this river ; 

" who was enamoured of the river, the divine Enipeus." ^ 
for there her father Salmoneus was king, as Euripides says in 
the play of ^olus. [The river in Thessaly some call Eniseus, 
which, flowing from the Othrys, receives the Apidanus, that 
descends from the mountain Pharsalus.^] Near Salmone is 
Heracleia, which is one of the eight cities, distant about 40 
stadia from Olympia on the river Cytherius, where there is 
a temple of the nymphs, the loniades, who are believed to 
heal diseases by means of the waters of the river. 

Near Olympia is Arplna, which also is one of the eight 
cities. The river Parthenius runs through it in the direction 
of the road to Phersea. Pher^ea belongs to Arcadia. [It is 
situated above Dymasa, Buprasium, and Elis, which lie to the 
north of the Pisatis.'*] There also is Cicysium, one of the 
eight cities ; and Dysppntium, on the road from Elis^to" 
Olympia, situated in a pl ain. But it was razed, and the 



• An interpolation. K. ^ Od. ii. 238. 

^ An interpolation. Meineke. ♦ An interpolation. Groskurd. 



B. VIII. C. III. 



33. ELIS. 38 



greatest part of the inhabitants removed to Epidamnus and 
Apollonia. 

Above and so very near Oljmpia, is Pholoe, an Arcadian 
mountain, that the country at its foot belongs to the Pisatis. 
Indeed the whole of the Pisatis and* a great part of Triphylia 
border upon Arcadia. For this reason, most of the places, which 
have the name of Pylian in the Catalogue of the Ships, seem to 
be Arcadian. Persons, however, who are well informed, say, 
that the river Erymanthus, one of those that empty them- 
selves into the Alpheius, is the boundary of Arcadia, and that 
the places called Pylian are beyond the Erymanthus. 

33. According to Ephorus, "^tolus, being banished by 

Salmoneus, king of the Epeii, and the Pisatae^ from Eleia to 
jEtolia, called the country after his own name, and settled 
the cities there. His descendant Oxylus was the friend of 
Temenus, and the Heracleidae his companions, and was their 
guide on their journey to Peloponnesus ; he divided among 
them the hostile territory, and suggested instructions relative 
to the acquisition of the country. In return for these services 
he was to be requited by the restoration of Elis, which had be- ', 
longed to his ancestors. He returned with an army collected 1 
out of -^tolia, for the purpose of attacking the Epeii, who 
occupied Elis. On the approach of the Epeii in arms, when the 
forces were drawn up in array against each other, there ad- 
vanced in front, and engaged in single combat according to an 
ancient custom of the Greeks, Pyraechmes, an ^tolian, and 
Degmenus, an Epeian : the latter was lightly armed with a 
bow, and thought to vanquish easily from a distance a heavy- 
armed soldier ; the former, when he perceif ed the stratagem 
of his adversary, provided himself with a sling, and a scrip 
filled with stones. The kind of sling also happened to have 
been lately invented by the ^'Etolians. As a sling reaches its 
object at a greater distance than a bow, Degmenus fell ; the 
.-^tolians took possession of the country, and ejected the Epi 
They assumed also the superintendence of the temple at 
Olympia, which the Epeii exercised ; and on account of the 
friendship which subsisted between Oxylus and the Heracleidge, 
it was generally agreed upon, and confirmed by an oath, that 
the Eleian territory was sacred to Jupiterj^ii d that an y one 
who invaded that country with an army, was a sacrilci^icnis 
person : he also was to be accounted sacrilegious, who did not 

VOL. II. D 



'•^ ;,H 



,,J;^,/ l,..>'^ 



34 ty ^>.5-'' STRABO. "^V Casaub. 358. 



/defend it against the invader to the utmost of his power. It 
was for this reason, that the later founders of the city left it 
without walls, and those who are passing through the country 
with an army, deliver up their arms and receive them again 
upon quitting the bord,ers. Iphitus_ instituted there lEe]^! 
Olympic games, because the Eleians were a sacred people. 
Hence it was that they increased in numbers, for while other 
nations were continually engaged in war with each other, they 
alone enjoyed profound peace, and not themselves onlyTFut" 

Isirangers also, so that on this accotwit they were a more 
populous state than all the others. 

^^ ' Theidofrthe Argive was the tenth in descent from Temenus, 

and'SiBi&aostyowerft il • p i inc e of hiS-Sge^ he was the inventor of 
the weights and measures called Pheidonian, and stamped 
money, silver in particular. He recovered the whole inherit- 
ance of Temenus, which had been severed into many portions. 
Jle attacked also the cities which Hercules had formerly taken, 
an J" claimed the privilege of celebrating the games which 
Hercules had established, and among these the Olympian — ' 
games. He entered their country by force and celebrated the ___ 
games, for the Eleians had no army to prevent it, as they were 
in a state of peace, and the rest were oppressed by his power. ^ 
The Eleians however did not solemnly inscribe in their records 

"this celebration of the games, but on this occasion procured ^ 
arms, and began to defend themselves. The Lacedaemonians 
also afforded assistance, either because they were jealous of the 
prosperity, which was the effect of the peaceful state of the 
Eleians, or because they supposed that they should have the 
aid of the Eleian* in destroying the power of Pheidon, who 
had deprived them of the sovereignty {rjyefioviav) of Pelo- 
ponnesus, which they before possessed. They succeeded in 
their joint attempt to overthrow Pheidon, and the Eleians 
with this assistance obtained possession of Pisatis and Tri- 
phylia. 

The whole of the coasting voyage along the present Eleian 
territory comprises, with the exception of the bays, 1200 
stadia. 

So much then respecting the Eleian territory. 



B. VIII. c. IV. 6 1. MESSENIA. 35 



CHAPTER IV. 

1.^ Messenia is continuous with the Eleian territory^ iaclin- 
ing for the most part towards the south, and the Libyan Sea?" > 
Being part of Lac onia, i t was subject in the Trojan times to 
Menelaus. The name of the country was Messene. But the 

present city called Messene, the acropolis of which was Ithome, . 

was not then founded. After the death of Menelaus, when 
the power of those who succeeded to the possession of Laco- 
nia was altogether weakened, the Neleidoe governed Messenia. 
At the time of the return of the Heracleidae, and according 
to the partition of the country at that time, Melanthus was 
king of the Messenians, who were a separate community, but 
formerly .subject to Menelaus. As a proof of this, in the 
space from the Messenian Gulf and the continuous gulf, (called 
the Asinaean from the Messenian Asine,) were situated the 
seven cities which Agamemnon promised to Achilles ; 
" Cardamyle, Enope, the grassy Hira, the divine Pherae,* Antheia with 
rich meadows, the beautiful .^peia, and Pedasus abounding with vines."* 

He certainly would not have promised what did not belong 
either to himself or to his brother. The poet mentions those, 
who accompanied Menelaus from Pherae to the war,^ and speaks 
of ((Etylus) in the Laconian catalogue, a city situated on the 
Gulf of Messenia. - 

Messene follows next to Triphylia. The promontory, after 
which are the Coryphasium and Cyparissia, is common to 
both. At the distance of 7 stadia is a mountain, the ^ga- 
leum, situated above Coryphasium and the sea. 

2. The ancient Messenian Pylus was a city lying bel ow v^ yr-, f.( 
the ^gaieum, and after it was razed, some of the in ha- ^J , 
bitants settled under the Coryphasium. But the Athenia5i~75( 
in their second expedition against Sicily, under the command vV 
of Eurymedon and Stratocles, got possession of it, and usedr- | '/ 
it as a stronghold against the Lacedaamonians.'* Here alSS 
is the Messenian Cyparissia, (and the island Prote,) lying close 

' The text of Homer gives the name of Pharis. ^ i\ jx. 150. 

3 II. ii. 582. 

* Thucydides, b. iv. ch. 2. The expedition was under the command 
of Eurymedon and Sophocles. Stratocles being at the time archon at 
Athens. 

D 2 



I /v. 



>-N^' 






5 ^V 36 STRABO. Casaub. 359. 

/ :\^ to Pyliis, the island Spbagia, called also Sphacteria. If. was 

s^ J here that the Lacedogmonians lost three hundred men,' who 

were besieged by the Athenians and taken prisoners. 

Two islands, called Strophades,^ belonging to the Cy- 
parissii, lie off at sea in front of this coast, at the distance of 
about 400 stadia from the continent, in the Libyan and south- 
ern sea. According to Thucydides this Pylus was the naval 
station of the Messenians. It is distant from Sparta 400 stadia. 

3. Next is Methone.^ This city, called by the poet Peda- 
sus, was one of the seven, it is said, which Agamemnon pro- 
mised to Achilles. There Agrippa killed, in the Actian war. 
Bogus, the king of the Maurusii, a partisan of Antony's, 
having got possession of the place by an attack by sea. 

4. Continuous with Methone is Acritas,^ where the Messe- 
nian Gulf begins, which they call also Asinaeus from Asine, a 
small city, the first we meet with on the gulf, and having the 
same name as the Hermionic Asine. 

This is the commencement of the gulf towards the west. 
Towards the east are the Thyrides,^ as they are called, bor- 
dering upon the present Laconia near Caenepolis,^ and Tae- 
narum. 

In the intervening distance, if we begin from the Thyrides, 
we meet with QEtylus,"^ by some called Beitylus ; then Leuc- 
trum, a colony of the Leuctri in Boeotia ; next, situated upon 
a steep rock, Cardamyle;^ then Pheras, bordering upon Thu- 
ria, and Gerenia, from which place they say Nestor had the 
epithet Gerenian, because he escaped thither, as we have 
mentioned before. They show in the Gerenian territory a 
temple of -^sculapius Triccaeus, copied from that at the Thes- 
salian Tricca. Pelops is said to have founded Leuctrum, and 
Charadra, and Thalami, now called the Boeotian Thalami, 
having brought with him, when he married his sister NiobcJ 
to Amphion, some colonists from Boeotia. 

' Thucydides, b. iv. ch. 38. The number was 292. ' Strivali. 

2 According to Pausanias, Mothone, or Methone, was the Pedasus of 
Homer. It is the modern Modon, 

* Cape Gallo. The Gulf of Messenia is now the Gulf of Coron. 

* The name Thyrides, the little gates, is probably derived from the 
fable which placed the entrance of the infernal regions at Tsenarum, Cape 
Matapan. 

' For Cinsethitim I read Casnepolis, as suggested by Falconer, and ap- 
proved by Coray. ^ Vitulo. • Scardamula. 



B. viii. c. IV. § 5, 6. MESSENIA. 37 

The Nedon, a different river from the Neda, flows through 
Laconia, and discharges its waters near Pherae. It has upon 
its banks a remarkable temple of the Nedusian Minerva. At 
Poeaessa also there is a temple of the Nedusian Minerva, 
which derives its name from a place called Nedon,^ whence, 
they say, Teleclus colonized Poeaessa,^ and Echeiae, and 
Tragium. 

5. With respect to the seven cities promised to Achilles, we 

have already spoken of Cardamyle, and Pherae, and Pedasus. ' 

Enope, some say is Pellana ; others, some place near Carda- 'f^^\04^% 
myle ; others, Gerenia.^ Hira is pointed out near a mountain . ' t !* 
in the neighbourhood of Megalopolis Mn.Ajcadia, on the road 
to Andania, which we have said is called by the poet CEcha- 
lia. Others say that the present Mesola was called Hira, 
which extends to the bay situated between Taygetum and 
Messenia. ^peia is now called Thuria, which we said bor- 
dered upon Pherce. It is situated upon a lofty hill, whence 
its name.^ The Thuriatic Gulf has its name from Thuria ; 
upon the gulf is a single city, named Rhium, opposite Tsena- 
rum. Some say that Antheia is Thuria, and ^peia Methone ; 
others, that Antheia is Asine, situated between Methone and 
Thuria, to which, of all the Messenian cities, the description, 
" with its rich pastures," is most appropriate. Near it on the sea 
is Corone. There are some writers who say that this town is 
called Pedasus by the poet. These cities are " all near the 
sea;" Cardamyle close to it; Pherae at the distance of 5 
stadia, having an anchorage, which is used in the summer. 
The rest are situated at unequal distances from the sea. 

6. Near Corone, about the middle of the gulf, the river 
Pamisus^ discharges itself, having, on the right hand, this 
city, and the rest in succession, the last of which, towards the 
west, are Pylus and Cyparissia, and between these is Erana, 
which some writers erroneously suppose to be the ancient 

' As Strabo remarks, in b. x., that the temple was built by Nestor on 
his return from Troy, Falconer suggests that it might have derived its 
name from the river Nedon, near Gerenia, the birth-place of Nestor. 

'^ In the island of Cos. 

3 According to Pausanias, Gerenia is the Enope of Homer. 

* Hira in the time of Pausanias was called Abia (Pala^ochora ?). Some 
interpreters of Homer were misled by the name of a mountain, Ira, near 
Megalopolis, and placed there a city of the same name, but Hira was on 
the sea-coast. * ^pys, aiTrvQ, lofty. ^ The Pirnatza. 



38 . STRABO. Casaub. 361. 

Arene ; on the left hand it has Thyria and Pherae. It is the 
largest (in width) of the rivers within the isthmus, although 
its course from its springs does not exceed 100 stadia in 
length ; it has an abundant supply of water, and traverses the 
Messenian plain, and the district called Macaria.^ It is dis- 
tant from the present city of the Messenians 50 stadia.^ There 
is also another Pamisus, a small torrent stream, running near 
Leuctrum of Laconia, which was a subject of dispute between 
the Messenians and Lacedaemonians in the time of Philip. 

I have before said that some persons called the Pamisus, 
Amathus.3 

7. Ephorus relates that Cresphontes, after he had taken Mes- 
sene, divided it into five cities, and chose Stenyclarus, situated 
in the middle of this district, to be the royal seat of his king- 
dom. To the other cities, Pylus, Rhium, (Mesola,) and 
Hyameitis, he appointed kings, and put all the Messenians on 
an equal footing with the Dorians as to rights and privileges. 
The Dorians, however, taking offence, he changed his inten- 
tion, and determined that Stenyclarus alone should have the 
rank of a city, and here he assembled all the Dorians. 

8. The city of the Messenians'* resembles Corinth, for above 
each city is a lofty and precipitous mountain, enclosed by a 
common wall in such a manner as to be used as an acropolis ; 
the Messenian mountain is Ithome,^ that near Corinth is 
Acrocorinthus. Demetrius of Pharos seemed to have coun- 
selled Philip the son of Demetrius well, when he advised him 
to make himself master of both cities, if he desired to get 
possession of Peloponnesus ; " for," said he, " when you have 
seized both horns, the cow will be your own ;" meaning, by 
the horns, Ithome and Acrocorinthus, and, by the cow, Pelo- 
ponnesus. It was no doubt their convenient situation which 
made these cities subjects of contention. The Romans there- 
fore razed Corinth, and again rebuilt it. The Lacedaemonians 

* So called from its fertility. 

"^ In the text 250, (tv, an error probably arising from the repetition of 
t]ie preceding final letter. 

3 The Pamisus above mentioned was never called the Amathus. There 
were three rivers of this name, one near the Triphyliac Pylus, which was 
also called Amathus ; a second at Leuctrum of Laconia ; and a third near 
Messene. 

* The ruins of Messene are now near the place called Mauromathia. 
' Mount Vulkano. 



B. VIII. c. IV. § 9, 10. MESSENIA. 39 

destroyed Messene, and the Thebans, and subsequently Philip, 
the son of Amyntas, restored it. The citadels however con- 
tinued unoccupied. 

9. The temple of Diana in Limnas (in the Marshes), where 
the Messenians are supposed to have violated the virgins who 
came there to oflfer sacrifice, is on the confines of Laconia and 
Messenia, where the inhabitants of both countries usually ce- 
lebrated a common festival, and performed sacrifices ; but after 
the violation of the virgins, the Messenians did not make any 
reparation, and war, it is said, ensued. The Limnaean temple of 
Diana at Sparta is said to have its name from the Limnse here. f^^<^p- 

10. There were frequent wars (between the Lacedaemonians {\ M 
and Messenians) on account of the revolts of the Messenians. r-^^-'^ 
Tyrtseus mentions, in his poems, that their first subjugation 

was in the time of their grandfathers ; ^ the second, when in 
conjunction with their allies the Eleians [Arcadians], Ar- 
gives, and Pisatas, they revolted ; the leader of the Arcadians 
was Aristocrates, king of Orchomenus, and of the Pisatae, 
Pantaleon, son of Omphalion. In this war, Tyrtaeus says, he 
himself commanded the Lacedeemonian army, for in his elegiac 
poem, entitled Eunomia, he says he came from Erineum ; 
" for Jupiter himself, the son of Saturn, and husband of Juno with the 
beautiful crown, gave this city to the Heracleidae, with whom we left the 
windy Erineum, and arrived at the spacious island of Pelops." 

Wherefore we must either invalidate the authority of the 
elegiac verses, or we must disbelieve Philochorus, and Callis- 
thenes, and many other writers, who say that he came from 
Athens, or Aphidnae, at the request of the Lacedaemonians, 
whom an oracle had enjoined to receive a commander from 
the Athenians. 

The second war then occurred in the time of Tyrtseus. 
But they mention a third, and even a fourth war, in which the 
Messenians were destroyed.^ 

^ The first war dates from the year b. c. 743, and continued 20 years. 
The second, beginnmg from 682 b. c, lasted 14 years ; , the third con- 
cluded in the year 456 b. c, with the capture of Ithome, which was the 
citadel or fort of Messene. Diod. Sic. lib. xv. c. 66. 

^ The Messenians, driven from Ithome at Uie-£nd .of the thirdwar, - 
settled at Naupactus, which was given to them as a place of refuge by the — 
Athenians, after the expulsion of the Locri-Ozolas. It is probable that ._ 
Strabo considers as a fourth war that which took place in the 94th Olym- 
piad, when the Messenians were driven from Naupactus by the Laceda)- 

monians and compelled to abandon Greece entirely. 



^ 




40 STRABO. Casaijb. 362. 

The whole voyage along the Messenian coast comprises 
about 800 stadia, including the measurement of the bays. 

11. I have exceeded the limits of moderation in this de- 
scription, by attending to the multitude of facts which are re- 
lated of a country, the greatest part of which is deserted. 
Even Laconia itself is deficient in population, if we compare 
its present state with its ancient populousness. For, with the 
exception of Sparta, the remaining small cities are about 
thirty ; but, anciently, Laconia had the name of Hecatompolis, 
and that for this reason hecatombs were annually sacrificed. 



CHAPTER V. 

1. Next after the Messenian is th eJLaconian Gulf, sj tuated 
between Taenarum and Maleoe, declining a little Ifom the 
south to the east. Thyrides, a precipitous rock, beaten by 
the waves, is in the Messenian Gulf, and distant from Tasna- 
rum 100 stadia. Above is Taygetum, a lofty and perpendi- 
cular mountain, at a short distance from the sea, approaching 
on the northern side close to the Arcadian mountains, so as to 
leave between them a valley, where Messenia is continuous 
with Laconia. 

At the foot of Taygetum, in the inland parts, lie Sparta 
and Amyclee,^ where is the temple of Apollo, and Pharis. The 
_site of Sparta is in rather a hollow, although it_com£rises___ 
inountains within it ; no part of it, however, is marshy, 
although, anciently, the suburbs were so, which were calleJ 
Limnae. The temple of Bacchus, also in Limnse, was in a wet 
situation, but now stands on a dry ground. 

In the bay on the coast is Taenarum, a promontory pro- 
jecting into the sea.2 Upoft it, in a grove, is the temple of • 
Neptune, and near the temple a cave, through which, accord- 
ing to the fable, Cerberus was brought up by Hercules from 

^ Leake supposes Amyclae to have been situated between Iklavokhori 
and Sparta, on the hill of Agia Kyriaki, half a mile from the Eurotas. 
At this place he discovered on an imperfect inscription the letters AMY 
following a proper name, and leaving little doubt that the incomplete word 
was AMTKAAIOY. See Smith. 

* Cape Matapan. 



B. VIII. c. V. § 2, 3. LACONIA. 41 

Hades. Thence to the promontory Phycus in Cyrenaica, is 
a passage across towards the south of 3000 stadia ; and to 
Pachynus, towards the west, the promontory of Sicily, 4600, 
or, according to some writers, 4000 stadia ; to Malese, towards 
the east, including the measurement of the bays, 670 stadia ; 
to Onugnathus,^ a low peninsula a little within Maleae, 520 
stadia. (In front of Onugnathus, at the distance of 40 stadia, 
lies Cythera,^ an island with a good harbour, and a city of the 
same name, which was the private property of Eurycles, the 
commander of the Lacedaemonians in our time. It is sur- 
rounded by several small islands, some near it, others lying 
somewhat farther off.) To Corycus, a promontory of Crete, 
the nearest passage by sea is 250 stadia.^ 

2. Next to Taenarum on the voyage to Onugnathus and to 
Malese'* is Amathus, (Psamathus,) a city; then follow Asine, 
and Gythium,^ the naval arsenal of Sparta, situated at an in- 
terval of 240 stadia. Its station for vessels, they say, is ex- 
cavated by art. Farther on, between Gythium and Acrasa, is 
the mouth of the Eurotas.^ To this place the voyage along the 
coast is about 240 stadia ; then succeeds a marshy tract, and 
a village, Helos, which formerly was a city, according to Ho- 
mer ; 

" They who occupied Amyclae, and Helos, a small town on the sea-coast." ' 
They say that it was founded by Helius the son of Perseus. 
There is a plain also call Leuce ; then Cyparissia,^ a city 
upon a peninsula, with a harbour ; then Onugnathus with 
a harbour ; next Boea, a city ; then Maleae. From these 
cities to Onugnathus are 150 stadia.- There is also, Asopus,^ 
a city in Laconia. 

3. Among the places enumerated by Homer in the Cata- 
logue of the Ships, Messa, they say, is no longer to be found ; 
and that Messoa is not a part of Laconia, but a part of Sparta 
itself, as was the Limnaeum near Thornax. Some understand 

' The Ass's Jaw. It is detached from the continent, and is now the 
island of Servi. ^ Cerigo. ^ 750 stadia. Groskurd. 

* By others written in the singular number, Malea, now C. St. Angelo. 
^ The site of Gythium is identified as between Marathonisi and Trinissa. 
6 The Iri, or Vasili Potamo. ^ II. ii. 584. 

8 Rupina, or Castel Rampano. The plain of Leuce is traversed by the 
river Mario-revina. 

* The site of Asopus appears, according to the ruins indicated in the 
Austrian map, to have been situated a little to the north of Rupina. 



42 STRABO. 



Casaub. 364. 



Messe to be a contraction of Messene, for it is said that this 
was a part of Laconia. [Thej allege as examples from the 
poet, the words " cri," and " do," and " maps," ^ and this pas- 
sage also ; 

^' The horses were yoked by Automedon and Alcimus," ' 

instead of Alcimedon. And the words of Hesiod, who uses 
/3p7 for I3pidv and (ipiapov ; and Sophocles and lo, who have pq, 
for pq.lLov ; and Epicharmus, Xi for X/av, and Supa/ca; for 'Zvpa- 
Kovaai ; Empedocles also has o;// for o^tg (jUt a yiyvETai aju0O7-£pwv 
otp or o-^lq)\ and Antimachus, ArifxrjrpoQ tol 'EXvmvirjg leprj 6\pf 
and a\(pL for aX<piTov ; Euphorion has ^\ for rikoQ ; Philetes 
has hfjujidtg eIq raXapovg XevKov ayovaiv ept for 'ipiov ; Aratus, 
eIq avefiov he ret Trr]ha for to. TrrjdaXia ; Simmias, Dodo for 
Dodona.]^ 

Of the rest of the places mentioned by the poet, some are 
extinct ; of others traces remain, and of others the names are 
changed, as Augeiae into JEgassd : [the city] of that name in 
Locris exists no longer. With respect to Las, the Dioscuri 
are said to have taken it by siege formerly, whence they had 
the name of Lapersse, (Destroyers of Las ^and Sop hocles says 
somewher^^-bjr- the 4wo Lapersae, by Eurotas, by the gods 
— ift-ArgCfs' and Sparta." ' '~ ^" " 

4. Ephorus says that the Heracleidae, Eurysthenes and 
Procles, having obtained possession of Laconia, divided it into 
six parts, and founded cities throughout the country, and as- 
signed Amyclse to him who betrayed to them Laconia, and 
who prevailed upon the person that occupied it to retire, on 
certain conditions, with the Acheei, into Ionia. Sparta they re- 
tained themselves as the royal seat of the kingdom. To the 
other cities they sent kings, permitting them to receive what- 
ever strangers might be disposed to settle there, on account of 
the scarcity of inhabitants. Las was used as a naval station, 
because it had a convenient harbour ; ^gys, as a stronghold, 
from whence to attack surrounding enemies ; Phersea, as a 
place to deposit treasure, because it afforded security from^ at- 
tempts from without. * * * * that all the neighbouring 
people submitted to the Spartiatas, but were to enjoy aiL^ 
equality of rights, and to have a share in the government and 

' KpT, duj, p-a.-^, for KQiBriy Sa>p,a, p,a\pidiov. ^ II. xix. 392. 

* ProbabJy an interpolation. * The text here is very corrupt. 



B. VIII. c. V. § 5. LACONIA. 43 

in the offices of state. They were called Heilotae. But AgiSj 

the son of, Eurjsthenes, deprived them of the equality cf /f I i- 
righiv^d ordered them to pay tribute to Sparta. The rest n^'^ 
submitted;- but the Heleii, who occupied Helos^reyoltedL^andTIL^/^ 
"Were^made prisoners in the course of the war ; they were a3 ^ -v-/7s 
judged to be slaves, with the_£o ndition^^ that the, owne r should ! C/10 
not be allowed to givp th pm tb^J^ ^^^^^^^^J i ^ ^^ s^^ them be- 
yoad the boundaries of the country. This was called the war 
of the Heilotae.^ Tiie system of Heilote-slavery, which con^:^~* 
tinned from that time to the establishment of the dominion of 
the Romans, was almost entirely the contri vance of Agis. 
They were a kindjofjiublic^gtey^s^ the Lacedaemo- 

nians assigned ISaHtations, and required from them peculiar 
services. 

5. With respect to the government of the Lacones, and the 
changes which have taken place among them, many things, 
as being well known, may be passed over, but some it may be 
worth while to relate. It is said that the Achaean Phthiotag, 
who, with Pelops, made an irruption into Peloponnesus, settled 
in Laconia, and were so much distinguished for their valour, 
that Peloponnesus, which for a long period up to this time 
had the name of Argos, was then called Achasan Argos ; and 
not Peloponnesus alone had this name, but Laconia also was 
thus peculiarly designated. Some even understand the words 
of the poet, 

" Where was Menelaus, was he not at Achaean Argos ? " ^ 

as implying, was he not in Laconia ? But about the time of 
the return of the Heracleidae, when Philonomus betrayed the 
country to the Dorians, they removed from Laconia to the 
country of the lonians, which at present is called Achaia. We 
shall speak of them in our description of Achaia. 

Those who were in possession of Laconia, at first conducted 
themselves with moderation, but after they had intrusted to 
Lycurgus the formation of a political constitution, they ac- 
quired such a superiority over the other^Greeks, that they , 
alone obtained the sovereignty T)6tHnby seaanTTStidTanSTcoai. 
tinned to be the chiefs~of the'^reeks, till the ThebaHsfa iid 
soon afterwards the Macedonians, deprived tEeiai of this 
ce ndency. ' "^ 

» l090 B. c. a Od. iii. 249, 251. 

A' 



44 STRABO. Casaub. 365. 

They did not however entirely submit even to these, but, 
preserving their independence, were continually disputing the 
sovereignty both with the other Greeks and with the Mace- 
donian kings. After the overthrow of the latter by the 
Romans, the Lacones living under a bad government at that 
time, and under the power of tyrants, had given some slight 
offence to the generals whom the Romans sent into the pro- 
vince. They however recovered themselves, and were held 
in very great honour. They remained free, and performed no 
other services but those expected from allies. Lately how- 
ever Eurycles^ excited some disturbances amongst them, having 
abused excessively, in the exercise of his authority, the friend- 
ship of Caesar. The government soon came to an end by the 
death of Eurycles, and the son rejected all such friendships. 
The Eleuthero-Lacones ^ however did obtain some regular 
form of government, when the surrounding people, and espe- 
cially the Heilotae, at the time that Sparta was governed by 
tyrants, were the first to attach themselves to the Romans. 

Hellanicus says that Eurysthenes and Procles regulated the 
form of government, but Ephorus reproaches him with not 
mentioning Lycurgus at all, and with ascribing the acts of the 
latter to persons who had no concern in them ; to Lycurgus 
only is a temple erected, and sacrifices are annually performed 
in his honour, but to Eurysthenes and Procles, although they 
were the founders of Sparta, yet not even these honours were 
paid to them, that their descendants should bear the respective 
appellations of Eurysthenidae and Procleidae.^ [The descend- 
ants of Agis, however, the son of Eurysthenes, were called 
Agides, and the descendants of Eurypon, the son of Procles, 
were called Eurypontiadse. The former were legitimate 
princes ; the others, having admitted strangers as settlers, 
reigned by their means ; whence they were not regarded as 
original authors of the settlement, an honour usually conferred 
upon all founders of cities.] 

* His character is discreditably spoken of by Josephus, Antiq. b. xvi. 
c. 10, and Bell. Jud. b. i. c. 2G. 

^ The cities of the Eleuthero-Lacones were at first 24 in number ; in 
the time of Pausanias 18 only. They were kindly treated by Augustus, 
but subsequently they were excluded from the coast to prevent communi- 
cation with strangers. Pausanias, b. iii. c. 21. 

' From hence to the end of the section the text is corrupt. See Groskurd 
for an attempt to amend the text of the last sentence, which is here not 
translated. 



B. VIII. c. V. § 6, 7. LACONIA. 45 

6. As to the nature of the places in Laconia and Messenia, 
we may take the description of Euripides ; ^ 

*' Laconia has much land capable of tillage, but difficult to be worked, 
for it is hollow, surrounded by mountains, rugged, and difficult of access 
to an enemy." 

Messenia he describes in this manner : 

" It bears excellent fruit ; is watered by innumerable streams ; it affords 
the finest pasture to herds and flocks ; it is not subject to the blasts of 
winter, nor too much heated by the coursers of the sun ;" 

and a little farther on, speaking of the division of the country 
by the Heracleidae according to lot, the first was 

" lord of the Lacaenian laud, a bad soil," 
the second was Messene, 

" whose excellence no language could express ;" 
and Tyrtaeus speaks of it in the same manner. 

But we cannot admit that Laconia and Messenia are 
bounded, as Euripides says, 

" by the Pamisus,^ which empties itself into the sea ;" 
this river flows through the middle of Messenia, and does not 
touch any part of the present Laconia. Nor is he right, when 
he says that Messenia is inaccessible to sailors, whereas it 
borders upon the sea, in the same manner as Laconia. 

Nor does he give the right boundaries of Elis ; 
" after passing the river is Elis, the neighbour of Jove ;" 
and he adduces a proof unnecessarily. For if he means the 
present Eleian territory, which is on the confines of Messenia, 
this the Pamisus does not touch, any more than it touches La- 
conia, for, as has been said before, it flows through the middle 
of Messenia : or, if he meant the ancient Eleia, called the Hol- 
low, this is a still greater deviation from the truth. For after 
crossing the Pamisus, there is a large tract of the Messenian 
country, then the whole district of [the Lepreatas], and of the 
[Macistii], which is called Triphylia ; then the Pisatis, and 
Olympia ; then at the distance of 300 stadia is Elis. 

7. As some persons write the epithet applied by Homer to 
Lacedaemon, KrjTweaaav, and others KaisTaeaaav, how are we to 
understand KrjTU)eaaa, whether it is derived from Cetos,^ or 

' This quotation, as also the one which follows, are from a tragedy of 
Euripides, now lost. * The Pirnatza. 

' KiJTog. Some are of opinion that the epithet was applied to Lacedae- 
mon, because fish of the cetaceous tribe frequented the coast of Laconia. 



46 STRABO. Casaub. 367. 

whether it denotes " large," which is most probable. Some 
understand Kaieraeaaa to signify, " abounding with calamin- 
thus ; " others suppose, as the fissures occasioned by earth- 
quakes are called Cseeti, that this is the origin of the epithet. 
Hence Caeietas also, the name of the prison among the Lace- 
daemonians, which is a sort of cave. Some however say, that 
such kind of hollows are rather called Coi, whence the ex- 
pression of Homer, ^ applied to wild beasts, (prjpaiv opeakyoiaiVf 
which live in mountain caves.^_ _Laconia however is subject tg ,— ^ 
earth quakes, and some writers relate, that certain peaks of 

"Taygetum have been broken otf by the shocks.'^ — 

^ T.nfon in, p^ntfli"° f\h^ q"?^ ries of v aluablemarblej^ Those 
of the Tsenarian marble in Taenarum^are ancient,^ and certain 
persons, assisted by the wealth of the Romans, lately opened a 
large quarry in Taygetum. 

8. It appears from Homer, that both the country and the 
city had the name of Lacedaemon ; I mean the country to- 
gether with Messenia. When he speaks of the bow and 
quiver of Ulysses, he says, 

" A present from Iphitus Eury tides, a stranger, who met him in Lace- 
daemon,"* 

and adds, 

" They met at Messene in the house of Ortilochus." 
He means the country which was a part of Messenia.^ There 
was then no difference whether he said " A stranger, whom he 
met at Lacedasmon, gave him," or, "they met at Messene;" 
for it is evident that Pheras was the home of Ortilochus : 

" they arrived at Pherae, and went to the house of Diodes the son of Or- 
tilochus," ^ 

namely, Telemachus and Pisistratus. Now Pherae"^ belongs to 
Messenia. But after saying, that Telemachus and his friend 
set out from Pherag, and were driving their two horses the 
whole day, he adds, 

» II. i. 268. 

* This may have taken place a little before the third Messenian war, 
B. c. 464, when an earthquake destroyed all the houses in Sparta, with 
the exception of five. Diod. Sic. b. xv. c. 66 ; Pliny, b. ii. c. 79. 

^ Pliny, b. xxxvi. c 18, speaks of the black marble of Tsenarus. 

* Od. xxi. 13. 

* Eustathius informs us that, according to some writers, Sparta and La- 
cedaemon were the names of the two principal quarters of the city ; and 
adds that the comic poet, Cratinus, gave the name of Sparta to the whole 
of Laconia. ® Od. iii. 488. ^ C!ieramidi. 



B. VIII. c.vi. § 1. ARGOLIS. 47 

" The sun was setting ; they came to the hollow Lacedaemon (Kj^rwccrtraj/), 
and drove their chariot to the palace of Menefeus.*' ^ 
Here we must understand the city ; and if we do not, the poet 
says, that they journeyed from Lacedgemon to Lacedaemon. 
It is otherwise improbable that the palace of Menelaus should 
not be at Sparta ; and if it was not there, that Telemachus 
should say, 

*' for I am going to Sparta, and to Pylus,"' 
for this seems to agree with the epithets applied to the coun- 
try,3 unless indeed any one should allow this to be a poetical 
licence ; for, if Messenia was a part of Laconia, it would be a 
contradiction that Messene should not be placed together with 
Laconia, or with Pylus, (which Was under the command of 
Nestor,) nor by itself in the Catalogue of Ships, as though it 
had no part in the expedition. 



CHAPTER VL 



I. After Maleae follow the Argolic and Hermionic Gulfs ; 
the former extends as far as Scyllaeum,'* it looks to the east, 
and towards the Cyclades ;^ the latter lies still more towards 
the east than the former, reaching ^.gina and the Epidau- 
rian territory.^ The Laconians occupy the first part of the 
Argolic Gulf, and the Argives the rest. Among the places 
occupied by the Laconians are Delium,^ a temple of Apollo, of 

1 Od. iii. 487. ' Od. ii. 359. 

3 The text to the end of the section is very corrupt. The following is 
a translation of the text as proposed to be amended by Groskurd. The 
epithet of Lacedaemon, hollow, cannot properly be applied to the country, 
for this peculiarity of the city does not with any propriety agree with the 
epithets given to the country ; unless we suppose the epithet to be a poet- 
ical licence. For, as has been before remarked, it must be concluded 
from the words of the poet himself, that Messene was then a part of La- 
conia, and subject to Menelaus. It would then be a contradiction (in 
Homer) not to join Messene, which took part in the expedition, with 
Laconia or the Pylus under Nestor, nor to place it by itself in the Cata- 
logue, as though it had no part in the expedition. 

* Skylli. ' The islands about Delos. 

* The form thus given to the Gulf of Hermione bears no resemblance 
to modern maps. 

^ Pausanias calls it Epidelium, now S. Angelo. 



48 STRABO. Casaub. 368. 

the same name as that in Boeotia ; Minoa, a fortress of the 
same name as that in Megara ; and according to Artemidorus, 
Epidaurus Limera;^ ApoUodorus, however, places it near 
Cythera,^ and having a convenient harbour, {\ifxrjv, limen,) it 
was called Limenera, which was altered by contraction to Li- 
mera. A great part of the coast of Laconia, beginning im- 
mediately from Maleas, is rugged. It has however shelters 
for vessels, and harbours. The remainder of the coast has 
good ports ; there are also many small islands, not worthy of 
mention, lying in front of it. 

2. To the Argives belong Prasiae,^ and Temenium^ where 
Temenus lies buried. Before coming to Temenium is the dis- 
trict through which the river Lerna flows, that having the same 
name as the lake, where is laid the scene of the fable of the 
Hydra. The Temenium is distant from Argos 26 stadia from 
the sea-coast ; from Argos to Herseum are 40, and thence to 
Mycenas 10 stadia. 

Next to Temenium is Nauplia, the naval station of the 
Argives. Its name is derived from its being accessible to 
ships. Here they say the fiction of the moderns originated 
respecting Nauplius and his sons, for Homer would not have 
omitted to mention them, if Palamedes displayed so much 
wisdom and intelligence, and was unjustly put to death; and 
if Nauplius had destroyed so many people at Caphareus.^ But 
the genealogy oiFends both against the mythology, and against 
chronology. For if we allow that he was the son of Neptune,^ 
how could he be the son of Amymone, and be still living in 
the Trojan times. 

Next to Nauplia are caves, and labyrinths constructed in 
them, which caves they call Cyclopeia. 

^ The ruins are a little to the north of Monembasia, Malvasia, or Nau- 
plia de Malvasia. ^ Cerigo. 

' The ruins are on the bay of Rheontas. * Toniki, or Agenitzi. 

* Napoli di Romagna. Nauplius, to avenge the death of his son Pala- 
medes, was the cause of many Greeks perishing on their return from Troy 
at Cape Caphareus in Euboea, famous for its dangerous rocks. The 
modern Greeks give to this promontory the name of ^vXocpdyoQ, (Xylo- 
phagos,) or devourer of vessels. Italian navigators call it Capo d'Oro, 
■whii;h in spite of its apparent signification, Golden Cape, is probably a 
transformation of the Greek word Caphareus. 

• Strabo confounds Nauplius, son of Clytoreus, and father of Palame- 
des, with Nauplius, son of Neptune and Amymone, and one of the 
ancestors of Palamedes- 



B. VIII. C. VI. 



3—5. ARGOLIS. 49 



3. Then follow other places, and after these the Hermionic 
Gulf. Since the poet places this gulf in the Argive territory, 
we must not overlook this division of the circumference of 
this country. It begins from the small city Asine ; ^ then 
follow Hermione,^ and Troezen.^ In the voyage along the 
coast the island Calauria^ lies, opposite ; it has a compass of 
30 stadia, and is separated from the continent by a strait of 
4 stadia. 

4. Then follows the Saronic Gulf ; some call it a Pontus or 
sea, others a Porus or passage, whence it is also termed the 
Saronic pelagos or deep. The whole of the passage, or Porus, 
extending from the Hermionic Sea, and the sea about the 
Isthmus (of Corinth) to the Myrtoan and Cretan Seas, has this 
name. 

To the Saronic Gulf belong Epidaurus,^ and the island in 
front of it, ^gina ; then Cenchreae, the naval station of the 
Corinthians towards the eastern parts ; then Schoenus,^ a har- 
bour at the distance of 45 stadia by sea ; from Maleie the 
whole number of stadia is about 1800. 

At Schoenus is the Diolcus, or place where they draw the 
vessels across the Isthmus : it is the narrowest part of it. 
Near Schoenus is the temple of the Isthmian Neptune. At 
present, however, I shall not proceed with the description of 
these places, for they are not situated within the Argive ter- 
ritory, but resume the account of those which it contains. 

5. And first, we may observe how frequently Argos is 
mentioned by the poet, both by itself and with the epithet de- 
signating it as Achaean Argos, Argos Jasum, Argos Hippium, 
or Hippoboton, or Pelasgicum. The city, too, is called Argos, 

" Argos and Sparta" — ' 
those who occupied Argos 

" and Tiryns ;" « 
and Peloponnesus is called Argos, 

" at our house in Argos," • 
for the city could not be called his house ; and he calls the 
whole of Greece, Argos, for he calls all Argives, as he calls 
them Danai, and Achasans. 

' Fornos. ^ Castri. « Damala. * I. Poros. 

* A place near the ruins of Epidaurus preserves the name Pedauro. G. 

• Scheno. ' II. iv. 52. » II. ii. 559. » II. i. 30. 

VOL. II. T, 



50 STRABO. Casaub. 369. 

He distinguishes the identity of name by epithets ; he calls 
Thessaly, Pelasgic Argos ; 

" all who dwelt in Pelasgic Argos ;" * 
and the Peloponnesus, the Achaean Argos ; 

" if we should return to Achaean Argos ;" ' 
" was he not at Achaean Argos ?" ^ 

intimating in these lines that the Peloponnesians were called 
peculiarly Achseans according to another designation. 

He calls also the Peloponnesus, Argos Jasum ; 
" if all the Achaeans throughout Argos Jasum should see you," * 
meaning Penelope, she then would have a greater number of 
suitors ; for it is not probable that he means those from the 
whole of Greece, but those from the neighbourhood of Ithaca. 
He applies also to Argos terms common to other places, 
" pasturing horses," and " abounding with horses." 

6. There is a controversy about the names Hellas and Hel- 
lenes. Thucydides ^ says that Homer nowhere mentions Bar- 
barians, because the Greeks were not distinguished by any 
single name, which expressed its opposite. Apollodorus also 
says, that the inhabitants of Thessaly alone were called Hel- 
lenes, and alleges this verse of the poet, 

" they were called Myrmidones, and Hellenes ;" * 
but Hesiod, and Archilochus, in their time knew that they 
were all called Hellenes, and Panhellenes : the former calls 
them by this name in speaking of the Proetides, and says that 
Panhellenes were their suitors ; the latter, where he says 
" that the calamities of the Panhellenes centred in Thasus." 

But others oppose to this, that Homer does mention Bar- 
barians, when he says of the Carians, that they spoke a bar- 
barous language, and that all the Hellenes were comprised in 
the term Hellas ; 

" of the man, whose fame spread throughout Hellas and Argos." '' 
And again, 

" but if you wish to turn aside and pass through Greece and the midst of 
Argos." * 

J II. ii. 681. 2 II. ix. 141. 3 Od. iii. 251. 

* Od. xviii. 245. ^ Book i. 3. « II. ii. 684. 

7 Od. i. 344. « Od. xv. 80. 



B. VIII. c. VI. § 7, 8. ARGOLIS. 51 

7. The greater part of the city of the Argives is situated in 
a plain. It has a citadel called Larisa, a hill moderately for- 
tified, and upon it a temple of Jupiter. Near it flows the Ina- 
chus, a torrent river ; its source is in Lyrceium [the Arcadian 
mountain near Cynuria]. We have said before that the 
fabulous stories about its sources are the inventions of poets ; 
it is a fiction also that Argos is without water — 

" but the gods made Argos a land without water." 
Now the ground consists of hollows, it is intersected by rivers, 
and is full of marshes and lakes ; the city also has a copious 
supply of water from many wells, which rises near the surface. 

They attribute the mistake to this verse, 
*' and I shall return disgraced to Argos (TroXydi^iov) the very thirsty." * 
This word is used for iroXvirodriTov, or 

" much longed after," 
or without the I for TroXvixpiop, equivalent to the expression 
7ro\v(f)dopoy in Sophocles, 

" this house of the Pelopidae abounding in slaughter," "^ 
[for TTpo'id-^ai and idxpai and 'i\pacrdai, denote some injury or 
destruction ; 

" at present he is making the attempt, and he will soon-destroy (i^/zerai) 
the sons of the Acheei ;" ^ 

and again, lest 

" she should injure (tai//y) her beautiful skin ;" * 
and, 

" has prematurely sent down, Trpota^f^ev, to Ades."* ] ' 

Besides, he does not mean the city Argos, for it was not 
thither that he was about to return, but he meant Pelopon- 
nesus, which, certainly, is not a thirsty land. 

With respect to the letter ^, they introduce the conjunction 
by the figure hyperbaton, and make an elision of the vowel, 
so that the verse would run thus, 

Kai Ksv IXeyxicfTog ttoXv d' i;//tov 'Apyog iKoifxriv, 
that is, iroXvixpiov "Apyocrde iKoi/jrjv, instead of, elg "Apyog. 

8. The Inachus' is one of the rivers, which flows through 
the Argive territory ; there is also another in Argia, the 

» II. iv. 171. 2 Sophocles, El. 10. ^ II. ii. 193. 

* Od. ii. 376. ^ n [^ ^ 6 Probably an interpolation. Meineke. 

"> The Planitza. 

E 2 



52 STRABO. Casaub. 371. 

Erasinus. It has its source in Styraphalus in Arcadia, and in 
the lake there called Stjmphalis, where the scene is laid of 
the fable of the birds called Stymphalides, which Hercules 
drove away by wounding them with arrows, and by the noise 
of drams. It is said that this river passes under-ground, and 
issues forth in the Argian territory, and waters the plain. 
The Erasinus is also called Arsinus. 

Another river of the same name flows out of Arcadia to 
the coast near Buras. There is another Erasinus also in 
Eretria, and one in Attica near Brauron. 

Near Lerna a fountain is shown, called Amymone. The 
lake Xerna, the haunt of the Hydra, according to the fable, 
belongs to the Argive and Messenian districts. The ex- 
piatory purifications performed at this place by persons guilty 
of crimes gave rise to the proverb, " A Lerna of evils." 

It is allowed that, although the city itself lies in a spot where 
there are no running streams of water, there is an abundance 
of wells, which are attributed to the Danai'des as their inven- 
tion ; hence the line, 

" the Danaides made waterless Argos, Argos the watered." 
Four of the wells are esteemed sacred, and held in peculiar 
veneration. Hence they occasioned a want of water, while 
they supplied it abundantly. 

9. Danaus is said to have built the citadel of the Argives. 
He seems to have possessed so much more power than the 
former rulers of the country, that, according to Euripides, 

" he made a law that those who were formerly called Pelasgiotae, should 
be called Danai throughout Greece." 

His tomb, called Palinthus, is in the middle of the market- 
place of the Argives. I suppose that the celebrity of this city 
was the reason of all the Greeks having the name of Pelasgi- 
otas, and Danai, as well as Argives. 

Modern writers speak of lasidse, and Argos lasum, and 
Apia, and Apidones. Homer does not mention Apidones, and 
uses the word apia only to express distance. That he means 
Peloponnesus by Argos we may conclude from these lines, 

" Argive Helen ;" * 
and, 

" in the farthest part of Argos is a city Ephyra ;" ^ 

» II. vi. 623. 2 II. vi. 152. 



B. VIII. c. Yi. § 10. ARGOLIS. 53 

and, 

" tlie middle of Argos ;" * 
and, 

"to rule over many islands, and the whole of Argos.'"'' 

Argos, among modern writers, denotes a plain, but not once 
in Homer. It seems rather a Macedonian and Thessalian 
use of the word. 

10. After the descendants of Danaus had succeeded to the 
sovereignty at Argos, and the Amythaonidas, who came from 
Pisatis and Triphylia, were intermixed with them by mar- 
riages, it is not surprising that, being allied to one another, 
they at first divided the country into two kingdoms, in such a 
manner that the two cities, the intended capitals, Argos and 
Mycenas, were not distant from each other more than 50 stadia, 
and that the Heraeum at Mycenas should be a temple common 
to both. In this temple were the statues the workmanship of 
Polycletus. In display of art they surpassed all others, but 
in magnitude and cost they were inferior to those of Pheidias. 

At first Argos was the most powerful of the two cities. Af- 
terwards Mycenae received a great increase of inhabitants in 
consequence of the migration thither of the Pelopidae. For when 
everything had fallen under the power of the sons of Atreus, 
Agamemnon, the elder, assumed the sovereign authority, and 
by good fortune and valour annexed to his possessions a large 
tract of country. He also added the Laconian to the Mycenaean 
district.^ Menelaus had Laconia, and Agamemnon Mycenae, 
and the country as far as Corinth, and Sicyon, and the terri- 
tory which was then said to be the country of lones and 
^gialians, and afterwards of Achasi. 

After the Trojan war, when the dominionof Agamemnon was 
at an end, the declension of Mycenae ensued, and particularly 
after the return of the Heracleidae.'^ For when these people 
got possession of Peloponnesus, they expelled its former mas- 
ters, so that they who had Argos possessed Mycenae likewise, 
as composing one body. In subsequent times Mycenae was 
razed by the Argives, so that at present not even a trace is to 
be discovered of the city of the Mycenaeans.^ 

' Od. i. 344. « II. ii. 108. 3 About 1283, b. c. " About 1190, a. c. 

* Not strictly correct, as in the time of Pausanias, who lived about 150 
years after Strabo, a large portion of the walls surrounding Mycenae still 
existed. Even in modern times traces are still to be found. 



54 8TRAB0. CA8AUH. 372. 

If Mycenae experienced this fate, it is not surprising that 
some of the cities mentioned in the Catalogue of the Ships, 
and said to be subject to Argos, have disappeared. These are 
the words of the Catalogue : 

" They who occupied Argos, and Tiryns, with strong walls, and Hermione, 
and Asine situated on a deep bay, and Eiones, and Epidaurus with its 
vines, and the valiant Achican youths who occupied iEgina, and Mases." ' 

Among these we have already spoken of Argos ; we must now 
speak of the rest. 

11. ProDtus seems to have used Tiryns as a stronghold, 
and to have fortified it by means of the Cyclopes. There 
were seven of them, and were called Gasterocheires,^ because 
they subsisted by their art. They were sent for and came 
from Lycia. Perhaps the caverns about Nauplia, and the 
works there, have their name from these people. The citadel 
Licymna has its name from Licymnius. It is distant from 
Nauplia about 12 stadia. This place is deserted, as well as the 
neighbouring Midea, which is different from the Boeotian 
Midea, for that is accentuated Midea, like irpdvoiaf but this is 
accentuated Mid^a, like Tegea. 

Prosymna borders upon Mid^a; it has also a temple of 
Juno. The Argives have depopulated most of these for their 
refusal to submit to their authority. Of the inhabitants some 
went from Tiryns to Epidaurus ; others from Hermione to the 
Halieis (the Fishermen), as they are called ; others were trans- 
ferred by the Lacedajmonians to Messenia from Asine, (which 
is itself a village in the Argive territory near Nauplia,) and 
they built a small city of the same name as the Argolic Asine. 
For the Laceda3monians, according to Theopompus, got pos- 
session of a large tract of country belonging to otlier nations, 
and settled there whatever fugitives they had received, who 
had taken refuge among them ; and it was to this country the 
Nauplians had retreated. 

12. Hermione is one of the cities, not undistinguished. 
The coast is occupied by Halieis, as they are called, a tribe 
who subsist by being employed on the sea in fishing. There 
is a general opinion among the Hermionenses that there is a 
short descent from their country to Hades, and hence they do 
not place in the mouths of the dead the fare for crossing the 
Styx. 

' II. ii. 559, ' From yaaTtjp, the belly, and x«tp> the hand. 



H. VIII. c. VI. § 13, 14. ARQ0LI8. 65 

13. It is said that Asine as well as Ilermione was inhabited 
by Dryopos ; either Dryops the Arcadian having transferred 
them thither from the places near the Spercheius, according 
to Aristotle; or, Hercules expelled them from Doris near 
Parnassus. 

ScylljL'um near Hermione has its name, it is said, from 
Scylla, daughter of Nisus. According to report, she was 
enamoured of Minos, and betrayed to him Nisa^a. She was 
(howned by order of her father, and her body was thrown 
upon the shore, and buried here. 

Eiones was a kind of village which the Mycensei depopu- 
lated, and converted into a station for vessels. It was after- 
wards destroyed, and is no longer a naval station. 

14. Troozen is sacred to Neptune, • from whom it was 
formerly called Poseidonia. It is situated 15 stadia from the 
sea. Nor is this an obscure city. In front of its harbour, 
called Pogon,'^ lies Calauria, a small island, of about 30 stadia 
in compass. Here was a temple of Neptune, which served as 
an asylum for fugitives. It is said that this god exchanged 
Delos for Calauria with Latona, and Tajnarum for Pytho with 
Apollo. Ephorus mentions the oracle respecting it : 

" It is the same thing to possess Delos, or Calauria, 
Tho divine Pytho, or the windy Tajnarum." 

There was a sort of Amphictyonic body to whom tho con- 
cerns of this temple belonged, consisting of seven cities, which 
performed sacrifices in common. These were Ilermon, Epi- 
daurus, iEgina, Athenae, Prasia?, Nauplia, and Orchomenus 
Minyeius. The Argives contributed in behalf of Nauplia, and 
the Lacedajmonians in behalf of Prasias. Tho veneration 
for this god prevailed so strongly among the Greeks, that 
the Macedonians, even when masters of the country, never- 
theless preserved even to tho present titne the privilege of 
the asylum, and were restrained by shame from dragging 
away the suppliants who took refuge at Calauria. Archias 
even, with a body of soldiers, did not dare to use force to De- 

' Poseidon, or Neptune. This god, after a dispute with Minerva respect- 
ing this place, held by order of Jupiter, divided possession of it with hen 
Hence tho ancient coins of TroRzen b(!ar the trident and head of Minerva. 

' Uojyvjv, pogon or beard. Probably tho name is derived from the form 
of the harbour. Hence the proverb, ** Go to TroDzen," (nXtvaiiae dt 
TpoiZrjva,) addressed to those who had little or no beard. 



^^ STRABO. Casaub. 374. 

mosthenes, although he had received orders from Antipater 
to bnng him alive, and all other orators he could find who 
were accused of the same crimes. He attempted persuasion 
but in vain, for Demosthenes deprived himself of life by taking 
poison in the temple.^ ° 

Troezen and Pittheus, the sons of Pelops, having set out 
from Pisatis to Argos, the former left behind him a city of his 
own name ; Pittheus succeeded him, and became king. An- 
thes, who occupied the territory before, set sail, andfounded 
Hahcarnassus. We shall speak of him in our account of 
Caria and the Troad. 

15. Epidaurus was called Epitaurus [Epicarus?]. Aris- 
totle says, that Carians occupied both this place and Hermione, 
but upon the return of the Heracleidge those lonians, who had 
accompanied them from the Athenian Tetrapolis to Argos 
settled there together with the Carians. ' 

Epidaurus 2 was a distinguished city, remarkable particu- 
larly on, account of the fame of ^sculapius, who was sup- 
posed to cure every kind of disease, and whose temple is 
crowded constantly with sick persons, and its walls covered 
with votive tablets, which are hung upon the walls, and con- 
tain accounts of the cures, in the same manner as is practised 
at Cos, and at Tricca. The city lies in the recess of the 
Saronic Gulf, with a coasting navigation of 15 stadia, and its 
aspect is towards the point of summer sun-rise. It is sur- 
rounded with lofty mountains, which extend to the coast, so 
that it is strongly fortified by nature on all sides. 

Between Trcezen and Epidaurus, there was a fortress Me- 
thana,3 and a peninsula of the same name. In some copies of 
Thucydides Methone is the common reading,-* a place of the 
sanae name with the Macedonian city, at the siege of which 
Philip lost an eye. Hence Demetrius of Scepsis is of opinion, 
that some persons were led into error by the name, and sup- 
posed that it was Methone near Troezen. It was against this 
town, it is said, that the persons sent by Agamemnon to levy 
sailors, uttered the imprecation, that 

" they might never cease to build walls,'* 

' Plutarch, Life of Demosthenes. « Pidauro. 

' Methana is the modern name. 

* Thucyd. b. ii. c. 34. Methone is the reading of all manuscripts and 
editions. 



B. VIII. c. VI. § 16. ^GINA. 57 

but it was not these people ; but the Macedonians, according 
to Theopompus, who refused the levy of men ; besides, it is 
not probable that those, who were in the neighbourhood of 
Agamemnon, would disobey his orders. 

16. ^gina is a place in the territory of Epidaurus. There 
is in front of this continent, an island, of which the poet means 
to speak in the lines before cited. Wherefore some write, 

" and the island ^gina," 
instead of 

" and they who occupied -<Egina," 

making a distinction between the places of the same name. 

It is unnecessary to remark, that this island is among the 
most celebrated. It was the country of ^acus and his de- 
scendants. It was this island which once possessed so much 
power at sea, and formerly disputed the superiority with the 
Athenians in the sea-fight at Salamis during the Persian war.^ 
The circuit of the island is said to be about 180 stadia. It 
has a city of the same name on the south-west. Around it 
are Attica, and Megara, and the parts of Peloponnesus as far 
as Epidaurus. It is distant from each about 100 stadia. The 
eastern and southern sides are washed by the Myrtoan and 
Cretan seas. Many small islands surround it on the side 
towards the continent, but Belbina is situated on the side 
towards the open sea. The land has soil at a certain depth, 
but it is stony at the surface, particularly the plain country, 
whence the whole has a bare appearance, but yields large crops 
of barley. It is said that the ^ginetas were called Myrmi- 
dones, not as the fable accounts for the name, when the ants 
were metamorphosed into men, at the time of a great famine, 
by the prayer of -^acus ; but because by digging, like ants, 
they threw up the earth upon the rocks, and were thus made 
able to cultivate the ground, and because they lived in ex- 
cavations under-ground, abstaining from the use of bricks 
and sparing of the soil for this purpose. 

Its ancient name was CEnone, which is the name of two of 
the demi in Attica, one near Eleutherae ; 

" to inhabit the plains close to CEnone, (CEnoe,) and Eleutherae ;" 
and another, one of the cities of the Tetrapolis near Marathon, 
to which the proverb is applied, 

" CEnone (CEnoe ?) and its torrent." 

^ Herodotus, b. v. c. 83, and b. viii. c. 93. 



^^ STRABO. Casaub. 875. 

Its inhabitants were in succession Argives, Cretans, Epidauri- 
ans, and Dorians. At last the Athenians divided the island by- 
lot among settlers of their own. The Lacedsemonians, however, 
deprived the Athenians of it, and restored it to the ancient in- 
habitants. 

The ^ginetae sent out colonists to Cydonia^ in Crete, and 
to the Ombrici. According to Ephorus, silver was first struck 
as money by Pheidon. The island became a mart, the inhabit- 
ants, on account of the fertility of its soil, employing them- 
selves at sea as traders ; whence goods of a small kind had 
the name of "^gina wares." 

17. The poet frequently speaks of places in succession as 
they are situated ; 

" they who inhabited Hyria, and Anlis ;" ^ 

" and they who occupied Argos, and Tiryns, 

Hermione, and Asine, 

Troezen, and Eiones."^ 

At other times he does not observe any order ; 
" Schoenus, and Scolus, 
Thespeia, and Grsea." * 

He also mentions together places on the continent and islands ; 

" they who held Ithaca, 

and inhabited Crocyleia," * 

for Crocyleia is in Acarnania. Thus he here joins with ^gina 
Mases, which belongs to the continent of Argolis. 

Homer does not mention Thyreae, but other writers speak 
of it as well known. It was the occasion of a contest between 
the three hundred Argives against the same number of Lace- 
dasmonians ; the latter were conquerors by means of a strata- 
gem of Othryadas. Thucydides places Thyreee in Cynuria, 
on the confines of Argia and Laconia.^ 

Hysiee also is a celebrated place in Argolica ; and Cenchreas, 
which lies on the road from Tegea to Argos, over the moun- 
tain Parthenius, and the Creopolus."^ But Homer was not 
acquainted with either of these places, [nor with the Lyr- 
ceiura, nor Orneae, and yet they are villages in the Argian 
territory ; the former of the same name as the mountain there ; 
the latter of the same name as the Orneae, situated between 
Corinth and Sicyon].^ 

* This colony must have been posterior to that of the Samians, the first 
founders of Cydonia. ^ n j| 495^ 3 ji_ ^^ 559^ 

* II. ii. 497. 5 II, ii. 632. 6 Thucyd. ii. 27 ; iv. 56. 
' A place not known. » Probably interpolated. 



B. VIII. c. VI. ^ 18, 19. MYCEN^. 59 

18. Among the cities of the Peloponnesus, the most celebrated 
were, and are at this time, Argos and Sparta, and as their re- 
nown is spread everywhere, it is not necessary to describe 
them at length, for if we did so, we should seem to repeat 
what is said by all writers. 

Anciently, Argos was the most celebrated, but afterwards 
the Lacedaemonians obtained the superiority, and continued to 
maintain their independence, except during some short interval, 
when they experienced a reverse of fortune. 

The Argives did not admit Pyrrhus within the city. He 
fell before the walls, an old woman having let a tile drop from 
a house upon his head. 

They were, however, under the sway of other kings. When 
they belonged to the Achaean league they were subjected, to- 
gether with the other members of that confederacy, to the 
power of the Romans. The city subsists at present, and is 
second in rank to Sparta. 

19. We shall next speak of those places which are said, in 
the Catalogue of the Ships, to be under the government of 
Mycenae and Agamemnon : the lines are these : 

" Those who inhabited Mycenae, a well-built city, 

and the wealthy Corinth, and Cleonae well built, 

and Orneiae, and the lovely Arsethyrea, 

and Sicyon, where Adrastus first reigned, 

and they who inhabited Hyperesia, and the lofty Gonoessa, 

and Pellene, and ^gium, 

and the whole range of the coast, and those who lived near the spacious 

Helice." ' 

Mycenae exists no longer. It was founded by Perseus. 
Sthenelus succeeded Perseus ; and Eurystheus, Sthenelus. 
These same persons were kings of Argos also. It is said that 
Eurystheus, having engaged, with the assistance of the Athe- 
nians, in an expedition to Marathon against the descendants 
of Hercules and lolaus, fell in battle, and that the remainder 
of his body was buried at Gargettus, but his head apart from 
it at Tricorythus^ (Corinth?), lolaus having severed it from 
the body near the fountain Macaria, close to the chariot-road. 
The spot itself has the name of " Eurystheus'-head." 

Mycenae then passed into the possession of the Pelopidae, 
who had left the Pisatis, then into that of the Heracleidae, 

» II. ii. 569. 

* Tricorythus in place of Corinth is the suggestion of Coray. 



STRABO. Casaub. 377. 

^ho were also masters of Argos. But after the sea-fight at 
fealamis, the Argives, together with the Cleonsei, and the Te- 
getse, invaded Mycenae, and razed it, and divided the territory 
among themselves. The tragic writers, on account of the 
proximity of the two cities, speak of them as one, and use the 
name of one for the other. Euripides in the same play calls 
the same city in one place Mycenae, and in another Argos as 
m the Iphigeneia,! and in the Orestes.^ 

CleonjB is a town situated upon the road leading from Ar- 
gos to Corinth, on an eminence, which is surrounded on all 
sides by dwellings, and well fortified, whence, in my opinion, 
Ueon« was properly described as "well built." There also 
between Cleonae and Phlius, is Nemea, and the grove where 
It was the custom of the Argives to celebrate the Nemean 
games: here is the scene of the fable of the Nemean Lion, 
and here also the village Bembina. Cleonse is distant from 
Argos 120 stadia, and 80 from Corinth. And we have our- 
selves beheld the city from the Acrocorinthus. 
^ . ^Q- C od ntkjs^said^to ^ be opulen tJrom_ its m art. It is 
f^^"^^^^ ^POPthe jgtl^Ba^a:— it con^^^djll ^^^nffi^;^, or,a 
War Am, the-mHer near Ital ^ y, and facilitates? bv ]-oo°^r. ^f ^^ 
s^shorta distance between them, an exchange of coTnmndiHpT 

oTT- tJatih bi idtj. ■ ^ Ol i ui i mrn 

As the Sicilian strait, so formerly these seas were of diffi- 
cult navigation, and particularly the sea above Malese, on ac- 
count of the prevalence of contrary winds ; whence the com- 
mon proverb, 

" When you double Maleae forget your home." 
.Jt.a^aa.JLi£ sirable thing fo r the merchants coming from Asia, 

^;2J'""- Ttinfri ^ nhnT -^li, ], lading at Corinth without 

;_gHi M<^'iff a'^ t o dfi i wblo Capo Malea?. For goods exported 
fr om Peloponnesus, or imported by l and, a toll was paid to 
_3QHa.-^aduUiaainejeys^ y the countp :^ This continued after-'*' 

/terwards for ever, in after-times the^T enjoyed even additional 
advantages, for the Isthmian games, which were celebrated 
there, brought thither great multitudes of people. The-Bac- 
\ ^iada^, a rich and numerous family, and of illustrious descent, 
xlvA were tlieir.rulers, governed iha.state'.for, nearly two hundred 
^^^^^^' ^"^ p eaceably enjoyed the profits of the mart. " "Their 
^J^vv^er jy as destroyed by CypSE*tlS,~iyh6 became king himself, 
' Iph. Taur. 508 et seq. 2 Qrest. 98, 101, 1246. 



B. VIII. c. Ti. § 21. CORINTH. 61 

and his descendants continued to exist for three generations. 
A proof of the wealth of this family is the offering which 
Cjpselus dedicated at Olympia, a statue of Jupiter of beaten 
gold. 

Demaratus, one of those who had been tyrant at Corinth, 
flying from the seditions which prevailed there, carried with 
him from his home to Tyrrhenia so much wealth, that he be- 
came sovereign of the city which had received him, and his 
son became even king of the Romans. 

Tbe-teffiple of Venus at Corinth was so rich, that it had 
more_^ than a thousand women consecrated to the service of thg 
goddess, courtesans, whom both men and women had dedi- 
cated as offerings to the goddess. The city was frequented 
and^ enriched. bv-4,be^^attltitULdes. who resorted thither on ac^_ 
_jiDaixLji£-th©s©~waaien. Masters of ships freely squandered 
all their money, and hence the proverb, 

" It is not in every man's power to go to Corinth." ' 
The answer is related of a courtesan to a woman who was 
reproaching her with disliking work, and not employing her- 
self in spinning ; 

" Although I am what you see, yet, in this short time, I have aheady 
finished three distaffs." ^ 

21. The position of the city as it is described by Hierony- 
mus, and Eudoxus, and others, and from our own observation, 
since its restoration by the Romans, is as follows. 

That which is called the Acrocorinthus is -a lofty mountain^ 
^^e^pgndicular, and about three stadia a:hd a half in height.^ 
There is an ascent of 30 stadia, and it terminates in a sharp 
point. The steepest part is towards the north. ,Belowitlies_ 
Jstfe^city in a plain of thejOarm of a trapezium, at the very toot" 
ot^ the A ^.ynforiT^l t^na! The compass of the city itself was 40 
stadia, and all that part which was not protected by the 
-laQUatain.JKaa.Jortified^ by a- wall. Even the mountain it- 
self, the Acrocorinthus, was comprehended within this wall, 
wherever it would admit of fortification. As I ascended it, 
the ruins of the circuit of the foundation were apparent, which 
gave a circumference of about 85 stadia. The other sides of 
the mountain are less steep ; hence, however, it stretches on- 

^ Ov TzavTOQ dvSpbg ig KopivQov laB' 6 irXovg, which Horace has ele- 
gantly Latinized, Non cviivis homini contingit adire Corinthum. 
2 iarovg — distaffs ; also, masts and sailors. 



^^ STRABO. vASAUB. 379. 

wards, and is visible everywhere. The summit has u{)on it a 
small temple of Venus, and below it is the fountain Peirene, 
which has no efflux, but is continually full of M^ater, which is 
transparent, and fit for drinking. They say, that from the 
compression of this, and of some other small under-ground 
veins, originates that spring at the foot of the mountain, which 
runs into the city, and furnishes the inhabitants with a suf- 
ficient supply of water. There is a large number of wells in 
the city, and it is said in the Acrocorinthus also, but this I 
did not see. When Euripides says, 

" I come from the Acrocorinthus, well-watered on all sides, the sacred 
hill and habitation of Venus," 

the epithet " well-watered on all sides," must be understood to 
refer to depth ; pure springs and under-ground rills are dis- 
persed through the mountain ; or we must suppose, that, an- 
ciently, the Peirene overflowed, and irrigated the mountain. 
There, it is said, Pegasus was taken by Bellerophon, while 
drinking ; this was a winged horse, which sprung from the 
neck of Medusa when the head of the Gorgon was severed 
from the body. This was the horse, it is said, which caused 
the Hippocrene, or Horse's Fountain, to spring up in Helicon 
by striking the rock with its hoof. 

Below Peirene is the Sisypheium, which preserves a large 
portion of the ruins of a temple, or palace, built of white mar- 
ble. From the summit towards the north are seen Parnassus 
and Helicon, lofty mountains covered with snow ; then the 
Crissaean Gulf,i lying below both, and surrounded by Phocis, 
Boeotia, Megaris, by the Corinthian district opposite to Phocis, 
and by Sicyonia on the west. * * * * 
_ Abov£.allJhese are situated the Oneia^ mo untains, asJhfijL^ 
.,.-^^iJalkdi.§xtendji^^ from 

the Sceironides rocks, where the "road leads along them to 
Attica. 

^ 22. Lechagum is the commencement of the coast on one 
side ; and on the other, Ceiichresej^j, vinagejnth^-.to 
distant from the city about 70 stadia". The latter .serves for 
the trade with-Asiajjnd Lechaeum for Jhat with Italy,_ 
Lech^um is situated l)elow the city, and is not well in- 

* Strabo here gives the name of Crissaean Gulf to the eastern half of the 
Gulf of Corinth. 

* Of or belonging to asses. 



B. VIII. c. VI. § 22. CORINTH. 63 

habited. There are long walls of about 1 2 stadia in length, 
stretching on each side of the road towards Lechaeum. The 
sea-shore, extending hence to Pagae in Megaris, is washed by 
the Corinthian Gulf. It is curved, and forms the Diolcus, or 
the passage along which vessels are drawn over the Isthmus 
to the opposite coast at Schoenus near Cenchreae. 

Between Lechaeum and Pagae, anciently, there was the 
oracle of the Acrsean Juno, and Olmiae, the promontory that 
forms the gulf, on which are situated CEnoe, and Pagae ; the 
former is a fortress of the Megarians ; and CEnoe is a fortress 
of the Corinthians. 

Next to Cenchreae ^ is Schoenus, where is the narrow part 
of the Diolcus, then Crommyonia. In front of this coast lies 
the Saronic Gulf, and the Eleusiniac, which is almost the same, 
and continuous with the Hermionic. Upon the Isthmus is the 
temple of the Isthmian Neptune, shaded above with a grove of 
pine trees, where the Corinthians celebrated the Isthmian games. 

Crommyon^ is a village of the Corinthian district, and form- 
erly belonging to that of Megaris, where is laid the scene of 
the fable of the Crommyonian sow, which, it is said, was the 
dam of the Calydonian boar, and, according to tradition, the 
destruction of this sow was one of the labours of Theseus. 

Tenea is a village of the Corinthian territory, where there 
was a temple of Apollo Teneates. It is said that Archias, 
who equipped a colony for Syracuse, was accompanied by a 
great number of settlers from this place ; and that this settle- 
ment afterwards flourished more than any others, and at length 
had an independent form of government of its own. When 
they revolted from the Corinthians, they attached themselves 
to the Romans, and continued to subsist when Corinth was 
destroyed. 

An answer of an oracle is circulated, which was returned 
to an Asiatic, who inquired whether it was better to migrate 
to Corinth ; 

" Corinth is prosperous, but I would belong to Tenea ; 

' The remains of an ancient place at the distance of about a mile atter 
crossing the Erasinus, (Kephalari,) are probably those of Cenchreae. Smith. 

2 Crommyon was distant 120 stadia from Corinth, (Thuc. iv. 45,) and 
appears to have therefore occupied the site of the ruins near the chapel of 
St. Theodoras. The village of Kineta, which many modern travellers 
suppose to correspond to Crommyon, is much farther from Corintli than 
120 stadia. Smith. 



^^ STRABO. Casaub. 380. 

which last word was perverted by some through ignorance, 
and altered to Tegea. Here, it is said, Polybus brought up 
QEdipus. ^ 

There seems to be some affinity between the Tenedii and 
these people, through Tennus, the son of Cycnus, according 
to Aristotle ; the similarity, too, of the divine honours paid 
by both to Apollo affords no slight proof of this relationship.! 
^^^.JiilSSEiSlhians^ when subject to Philip, jespoused his 
.jm^y^J: y . . iS fi a l au sI y ^and individually conducted theniselves" 
SQ contemptuously towards the Romans, that persons ventured 
to throw down filth upon their ambassadors, when passing by 
their houses. They were immediately punished for these and 
other offences and insults. A large army was sent out under 
the command of Lucius Mummius, who razed the city.^ The 
rest of the country, as far as Macedonia, was subjected to the 
Romans under different generals. The Sicyonii, however, 
had the largest part of the Corinthian territory. 

Polybius relates with regret what occurred at the capture 
of the city, and speaks of the indifference the soldiers showed 
for works of art, and the sacred offerings of the temples. He 
says, that he was present, and saw pictures thrown upon the 
ground, and soldiers playing at dice upon them. Among 
others, he specifies by name the picture of Bacchus ^ by Aris- 
teides, (to which it is said the proverb was applied, " Nothing 
to the Bacchus,") and Hercules tortured in the robe, the gif^ 
of Deianeira.^ This I have not myself seen, but I have seen the 
picture of the Bacchus suspended in the Demetreium at Rome, 
a very beautiful piece of art, which, together with the temple, 
was lately consumed by fire. The greatest number and the 
finest of the other offerings in Rome were brought from Cor- 
inth. Some of them were in the possession of the cities in 
the neighbourhood of Rome. For Mummius being more 

' According to Pausanias, the Teneates derive their origin from the 
Trojans taken captive at the island of Tenedos. On their arrival in Pelo- 
ponnesus, Tenea was assigned to them as a habitation by Agamemnon. 

'■^ B. c. 146. 

3 Aristeides of Thebes, a contemporary of Alexander the Great. At a 
public sale of the spoils of Corinth, King Attalus offered so large a price 
for the painting of Bacchus, that Mummius, although ignorant of art, was 
attracted by the enormity of the price offered, withdrew the picture, in 
spite of the protestations of Attalus, and sent it to Rome. 

* This story forms the subject of the Trachiniae of Sophocles. 



ftil 



B. VIII. c. VI. § 23. COEINTH. SICYON. 66 

brave and generous than an admirer of the arts, presented 
them without hesitation to those who asked for them.^ Lu- 
cuUus, having built the temple of Good Fortune, and a porti- 
co, requested of Mummius the use of some statues, under the 
pretext of ornamenting the temple with them at the time of 
its dedication, and promised to restore them. He did not, 
however, restore, but presented them as sacred oflferings, and 
told Mummius to take them away if he pleased. Mummius 
did not resent this conduct, not caring about the statues, but 
obtained more honour than Lucullus, who presented them as 
sacred offerings. 

f\nvhn^ rpmmnprl n Inng ||Tr^ e dcscrted, till at length it was 1 J 
^r^d ^'^ fl^ff^v^t ^f its patural advantages by divus Caesar, (\ 0^ 
who sent colonists thither, who consisted, tor the most part, ot 
the descendants of free-men. 

On moving the ruins, and digging open the sepulchres, 
an abundance of works in pottery with figures on them, and 
many in brass, were found. The workmanship was admired, 
and all the sepulchres were examined with the greatest care. 
Thus was obtained a large quantity of things, which were 
disposed of at a great price, and Rome filled with Necro- 
Corinthia, by which name were distinguished the articles taken 
out of the sepulchres, and particularly the pottery. At first 
these latter were held in as much esteem as the works of the 
Corinthian artists in brass, but this desire to have them did 
not continue, not only because the supply failed, but because 
the greatest p?rt of them were not well executed.^ 
^T^^TQ^^f^^f PnyinfTi w^°J^j:gfi P"^ ^f^llf^"^ ft all pcHods , 
anri promlced a great number of staiesi»«»-«»d™i 
here in particular, and at SIcyon, flourished painti ng, and 
naodeliillg, and every art of this kind. 

The^QiljffiaajiQt.y^ry fertile ; its surface was uneven and 




' Mummius was so ignorant of the arts, that he threatened those who 
were intrusted with the care of conveying to Rome the pictures and sta- 
tHi^s taken at Corinth, to have them replaced by new ones at their ex- 
pense, in case they should be so unfortunate as to lose them. 

* The plastic' krt was invented at Sicyon by Dibutades ; according to 
others, at the island of Samos, by Roecus and Theodorus. From Greece it 
was carried into Etruria by Demaratus, who was accompanied by Eucheir 
and Eugrammus, plastic artists, and by the painter Cleophantus of Cor- 
inth, B. c. 663. See b. v. c. ii. § 2. 

VOL. n. F 







^ STRABO. Casaub. 382. 



rugged, whence^l writers describe Corinth as full of brows 
of hills, and apply llie"provefb, ~— — — -— 

--------*'=€«riB^rTiserWt!iri5f bw^ hills, and sinks into hollows." 

24. Orneae has the same name as the river which flows be- 
side it. At present it is deserted ; formerly, it was well in- 
habited, and contained a temple of Priapus, held in veneration. 
It is from this place that Euphronius, (Euphorius ?) the author 
of a poem, the Priapeia, applies the epithet Orneates to the 
god. 

It was situated above the plain of the Sicyonians, but the 
Argives were masters of the country. 

Arasthyrea^ is now called Phliasia. It had a city of the 
same name as the country near the mountain Celossa. They 
afterwards removed thence and built a city at the distance of 
30 stadia, which they called Phlius.^ Part of the mountain 
Celossa is the Carneates, whence the Asopus takes its rise, 
which flows by Sicyon,^ and forms the Asopian district, 
which is a part of Sicyonia. There is also an Asopus, which 
flows by Thebes, and Plataea, and Tanagra. There is another 
also in Heracleia Trachinia, which flows beside a village, 
called Parasopii, and a fourth at Paros. 

Phlius is situated in the middle of a circle formed by Sicy- 
onia, Argeia, Cleonse, and Stymphalus. At Phlius and at 
Sicyon the temple of Dia, a name given to Hebe, is held in 
veneration. 

25. Sicyon was formerly called Mecone, and at a still earlier 
period, JEgiali. It was rebuilt high up in the country about 
20, others say, about 12, stadia from the sea, upon an eminence 
naturally strong, which is sacred to Ceres. The buildings 
anciently consisted of a naval arsenal and a harbour. 

Sicyonia is separated by the river Nemea from the Corinth- 
ian territory. It was formerly governed for a very long pe- 
riod by tyrants, but they were always persons of mild and 
moderate disposition. Of these, the most illustrious was 
Aratus, who made the city free, and was the chief of the 
Achaeans, who voluntarily conferred upon him that power ; 

» II. ii. 571. 

' The rums are situated below the monastery Kesra. 

^ Vasilika. 



B. VIII. C. VII. 



ACHAIA. 67 



he extended the confederacy by annexing to it his own coun- 
try, and the other neighbouring cities. 

Hyperesia, and the cities next in order in the Catalogue of 
the poet, and iEgialus,^ [or the sea-coast,] as far as Dyme, and 
the borders of the Eleian territory, belong to the Achaeans. 



CHAPTER VII. 



1. The lonians, who were descendants of the Athenians, 
were, anciently, masters of this country. It was formerly 
called ^gialeia, and the inhabitants ^gialeans, but in later 
times, Ionia, from the former people, as Attica had the name 
of Ionia, from Ion the son of Xuthus. 

It is said, that Hellen was the son of Deucalion, and that 
he governed the country about Phthia between the Peneius 
and Asopus, and transmitted to his eldest son these dominions, 
sending the others out of their native country to seek a settle- 
ment each of them for himself. Dorus, one of them, settled 
the Dorians about Parnassus, and when he left them, they bore 
his name. Xuthus, another, married the daughter of Erech- 
theus, and was the founder of the Tetrapolis of Attica, which 
consisted of QEnoe, Marathon, Probalinthus, and Tricorythus. 

Achseus, one of the sons of Xuthus, having committed an 
accidental murder, fled to Lacedaemon, and occasioned the in- 
habitants to take the name of Achasans.^ 

Ion, the other son, having vanquished the Thracian army 
with their leader Eumolpus, obtained so much renown, that 
the Athenians intrusted him with the government of their 
state. It was he who first distributed the mass of the people 
into four tribes, and these again into four classes according to 
their occupations, husbandmen, artificers, priests, and the 
fourth, military guards ; after having made many more regu- 
lations of this kind, he left to the country his own name. 

' ^gialus was the most ancient name of Achaia, and was given to it 
on account of the greater number of cities being situated upon the coast. 
The Sicyonians, however, asserted that the name was derived from one 
of their kings named iEgialeus. 

' The story is narrated differently in Pausanias, b. vii. c. 1. 
F 2 



68 STRABO. Casaub. 383. 

It happened at that time that the country had such an 
abundance of inhabitants, that the Athenians sent out a colo- 
ny of lonians to Peloponnesus, and the tract of country 
which they occupied was called Ionia after their own name, 
instead of JEgialeia, and the inhabitants lonians instead of 
JEgialeans, who were distributed among twelve cities. 

After the return of the Heracleidae, these lonians, being 
expelled by the Achaeans, returned to Athens, whence, in con- 
junction with the Codridae, (descendants of Codrus,) they sent 
out the Ionian colonists to Asia.^ They founded twelve cities 
on the sea-coast of Caria and Lydia, having distributed them- 
selves over the country into as many parts as they occupied in 
Peloponnesus.^ 

The Achaeans were Phthiotae by descent, and were settled at 
Lacedaemon, but when the Heracleidae became masters of the 
country, having recovered their power under Tisamenus, the 
son of Orestes, they attacked the lonians, as I said before, 
and defeated them. They drove the lonians out of the coun- 
try, and took possession of the territory, but retained the 
same partition of it which they found existing there. They 
became so powerful, that, although the Heracleidae, from whom 
they had revolted, occupied the rest of Peloponnesus, yet they 
defended themselves against them all, and called their own 
country Achaea. 

From Tisamenus to Ogyges they continued to be governed 
by kings. Afterwards they established a democracy, and ac- 
<iuired so great renown for their political wisdom, that the 
Italian Greeks, after their dissensions with the Pythagoreans, 
adopted most of the laws and institutions of the Achaeans. After 
the battle of Leuctra the Thebans ^ committed the disputes of 
the cities among each other to the arbitration of the Achaeans. 
At a later period their community was dissolved by the Mace- 
donians, but they recovered by degrees their former power. 
At the time of the expedition of Pyrrhus into Italy they be- 

' About 1044 B. c. 

2 The twelve cities were Phocaea, Erythrse/Clazomenae, Teos, Lebedos, 
Colophon, Ephesus, Priene, Myus, Miletus, and Samos and Chios in the 
neighbouring islands. See b. xiv. c i. § 3. This account of the expul- 
sion of the lonians from Peloponnesus is taken from Polybius, b. ii. c. 
41, and b. iv. c, 1. 

^ And Lacedaemonians, adds Polybius, b. ii. c. 39. 



B. vni. c. VII. § 2. ACHAIA. 69 

gan with the union of four cities, among which were Patrae 
and Djme.^ They then had an accession of the twelve cities, 
with the exception of Olenus and Helice ; the former refused 
to join the league ; the other was swallowed up by the waves. 
2. For the sea was raised to a great height by an earth- 
quake, and overwhelmed both Helice and the temple of the 
Heliconian Neptune, whom the lonians still hold in great 
veneration, and offer sacrifices to his honour. They celebrate 
at that spot the Panionian festival.^ According to the con- 
jecture of some persons, Homer refers to these sacrifices in 
these lines, 

" But he breathed out his soul, and bellowed, as a bull 

Bellows when he is dragged round the altar of the Heliconian king."' 

It is conjectured that the age '* of the poet is later than the 
migration of the Ionian colony, because he mentions the Pani- 
onian sacrifices, which the lonians perform in honour of the 
Heliconian Neptune in the territory of Priene ; for the Pri- 
enians themselves are said to have come from Helice ; a young 
man also of Priene is appointed to preside as king at these 
sacrifices, and to superintend the celebration of the sacred 
rites. A still stronger proof is adduced from what is said by 
the poet respecting the bull, for the lonians suppose, that sacri- 
fice is performed with favourable omens, when the bull bel- 
lows at the instant that he is wounded at the altar. 

Others deny this, and transfer to Helice the proofs alleged 
of the bull and the sacrifice, asserting that these things were 
done there by established custom, and that the poet drew his 
comparison from the festival celebrated there. Helice ^ was 
overwhelmed by the waves two years before the battle of 

* Patras and Paleocastro. 

' This festival, Panionium, or assembly of all the lonians, was cele- 
brated at Mycale, or at Priene at the base of Mount Mycale, opposite the 
island of Samos, in a place sacred to Neptune. The lonians had a temple 
also at Miletus and another at Teos, both consecrated to the Heliconian 
Neptune. Herod, i. 148. Pausanias, b. vii. c. 24. 

» II. XX. 403. 

* The birth of Homer was later than the establishment of the lonians in 
Asia Minor, according to the best authors. Aristotle makes him contem- 
porary with the Ionian migration, 140 years after the Trojan war. 

* jElian, De Natura Anim. b. ii. c. 19, and Pausanias, b. vii. c. 24, 
25, give an account of this catastrophe, which was preceded by an earth- 
quake, and was equally destructive to the city Bura. b. c. 373. 



70 



STRABO. Casaub. 384. 



Leuctra. Eratosthenes says, that he himself saw the place, 
and the ferrymen told him that there formerly stood in the 
strait a brazen statue of Neptune, holding in his hand a hip- 
pocampus,^ an animal which is dangerous to fishermen. 
^ According to Heracleides, the inundation took place in his 
time, and during the night. The city was at the distance 
of 12 stadia from the sea, which overwhelmed the whole inter- 
mediate country as well as the city. Two thousand men were 
sent by the Acha-ans to collect the dead bodies, but in vain. 
The territory was divided among the bordering people. This 
calamity happened in consequence of the anger of Neptune, 
for the lonians, who were driven from Helice, sent particularly 
to request the people of Helice to give them the image of 
Neptune, or if they were unwilling to give that, to furnish 
them with the model of the temple. On their refusal, the 
lonians sent to the Achaean body, who decreed, that they should 
comply with the request, but they would not obey even this 
injunction. The disaster occurred in the following winter, 
and after this the Achaeans gave the lonians the model of the 
temple. 

Hesiod mentions another Helice in Thessaly. 

3. The Achaeans, during a period of five and twenty years, 
elected, annually, a common secretary, and two military chiefs. 
Their common assembly of the council met at one place, called 
Arnarium, (Homarium, or Amarium,) where these persons, 
and, before their time, the lonians, consulted on public affairs. 
They afterwards resolved to elect one military chief. When 
Aratus held this post, he took the Acrocorinthus from Anti- 
gonus, and annexed the city as well as his own country to 
the Ach^an league.^ He admitted the Megareans also into 
the body, and, having destroyed the tyrannical governments in 
each state, he made them members, after they were restored 
to liberty, of the Achjean league. ***** He freed, in a 

^ The Syngathus Hippocampus of Linnaeus, from tTTTrof , a horse, and 
Ka/xTTij, a caterpillar. It obtained its name from the supposed resemblance 
of its head to a horse and of its tail to a caterpillar. From this is de- 
rived the fiction of sea-monsters in attendance upon the marine deities. 
It is, however, but a small animal, abundant in the Mediterranean. 
The head, especially when dried, is like that of a horse. Pliny, b. xxxii. 
c. 9—11. -^lian, De Nat. Anim. b. xiv. c. 20. 

- This distinguished man was elected general of the Achaean League, 
B.C. 245. ^ 



B. VIII. c. VII. § 4. ACHAIA. 71 

short time, Peloponnesus from the existing tyrannies; thus 
Argos, Hermion, Phlius, and Megalopolis, the largest of the 
Arcadian cities, were added to the Achaean body, when they 
attained their greatest increase of numbers. It was at this 
time that the Romans, having expelled the Carthaginians 
from Sicily, undertook an expedition against the Galatae, 
who were settled about the Po.^ The Achaeans remained 
firmly united until Philopoemen had the military command, 
but their union was gradually dissolved, after the Romans 
had obtained possession of the whole of Greece. The Ro- 
mans did not treat each state in the same manner, but per- 
mitted some to retain their own form of government, and dis- 
solved that of others. * * * * * 
« * * * * * * 

[He then assigns reasons for expatiating on the subject of the 
Achaeans, namely, their attainment of such a degree of power 
as to be superior to the Lacedagmonians, and because they 
were not as well known as they deserved to be from their im- 
portance.] ^ 

4. The order of the places which the Achaeans inhabited, ac- 
cording to the distribution into twelve parts, is as follows. 
Next to Sicyon is Pellene ; ^geira, the second ; the third, 
JEgsd, with a temple of Neptune ; Bura, the fourth ; then 
Helice, where the lonians took refuge after their defeat by the 
Achseans, and from which place they were at last banished ; 
after Helice are ^gium, Rhypes, Patrae, and Phara ; then Ole- 
nus, beside which runs the large river [Peirus ?] ; then Dyme, 
and Tritseeis. The lonians dwelt in villages, but the Achaeans 
founded cities, to some of which they afterwards united others 
transferred from other quarters, as ^gae to JEgeira, (the in- 
habitants, however, were called ^gaei,) and Olenus to Dyme. 

Traces of the ancient settlement of the Olenii are to be 
seen between Patrae and Dyme : there also is the famous tem- 
ple of ^sculapius, distant from Dyme 40, and from Patrae 80 
stadia. 

In Euboea there is a place of the same name with the 

* The expulsion of the Carthaginians from Sicily took place 241 b. c. 
The war of the Romans against the Cisalpine Gauls commenced 224 b. c, 
when the Romans passed the Po for the first time. 

^ Text abbreviated by the copyist. 



"^^ STRABO. Casatjb. 386. 

-^gas here, and there is a town of the name of Olenus in 
^tolia, of which there remain only vestiges. 

The poet does not mention the Olenus in Achaia, nor many 
Other people living near ^gialus, but speaks in general terms j 

*' along the whole of iEgialus, and about the spacious Helice." * 
But he mentions the iEtolian Olenus in these words j 
" those who occupied Pleuron and Olenus." '^ 

He mentions both the places of the name of ^g£e; the 
Achaean JEgae in these terms, 

" who bring presents to Helice, and to ^gje." « 

But when he says, 

" ^gae, where his palace is in the depths of the sea, 
There Neptune stopped his coursers," * 

it is better to understand ^gae in Euboea; whence it is 
probable the ^g£ean Sea had its name. On this sea, accord- 
mg to story, Neptune made his preparations for the Troian 
war. "^ 

Close to the Achaean ^gae flows the river Crathis,^ aug- 
mented by the waters of two rivers, and deriving its name 
from the mixture of their streams. To this circumstance the 
river Crathis in Italy owes its name. 

5.^ Each of these twelve portions contained seven or eight 
demi, so great was the population of the country. 

Pellene,6 situated at the distance of 60 stadia from the sea, 
is a strong fortress. There is also a village of the name of 
Pellene, whence they bring the Pellenian mantles, which are 
offered as prizes at the public games. It lies between ^gium^ 
and Pellene. But Pellana, a different place from these, be- 
longs to the Lacedaemonians, and is situated towards the ter- 
ritory of Megalopolitis. 

« II. ii. 576. « II. ii. 639. 8 II. viii 203. 

* II. xiii. 21, 34. 

* Kpa^tf— K(oa0^j/at. The Acrata. The site of ^g£e is probably the 
Khan of Acrata. Smith. 

« From the heights on which it was situated, descends a small river, 
(the Crius,) which discharges itself into the sea near Cape Augo- 
Campos. 

' Vostitza. 



B. viii. c. VII. § 5. ACHAIA. 73 

^geira ' is situated upon a hill. Bura is at the distance 
from the sea-coast of about 40 stadia. It was swallowed up 
by an earthquake. It is said, that from the fountain Sybaris 
which is there, the river Sybaris in Italy had its name. 

Mga (for this is the name by which jEgae is called) is not 
now inhabited, but the ^gienses occupy the territory. JEgium, 
however, is well inhabited. It was here, it is said, that Ju- 
piter was suckled by a goat, as Aratus also says, 

" the sacred goat, -wliicli is said to have applied its teats to the lips of 
Jupiter."^ 

lie adds, that, 

"the priests call it the Olenian goat of Jupiter," 

and indicates the place because it was near Olenus. There 
also is Ceryneia, situated upon a lofty rock. This place, and 
Helice, belong to the ^gienses,^ and the iEnarium, [Homari- 
um,]the grove of Jupiter, where the Achaeans held their con- 
vention, when they were to deliberate upon their common affairs. 

The river Selinus flows through the city of the ^gienses. 
It has the same name as that which was beside Artemisium 
at Ephesus, and that in Elis, which has its course along the 
spot, that Xenophon'* says he purchased in compliance with 
the injunction of an oracle, in honour of Artemis. There is 
also another Selinus in the country of the Hybloei Mega- 
tenses, whom the Carthaginians expelled. 

Of the remaining Achaean cities, or portions, Rhypes is not 
inhabited, but the territory called Rhypis was occupied by 
^gienses and Pharians. jEschylus also says somewhere, 

"the sacred Bura, and Rhypes struck with lightning." 

Myscellus, the founder of Croton, was a native of Rhypes. 
Leuctrum, belonging to the district Rhypis, was a demus 
of Rhypes. Between these was Patrae, a considerable city, 
and in the intervening country, at the distance of 40 sta- 
dia from Patrae, are Rhium,^ and opposite to it, Antir- 
rhium.^ Not long since the Romans, after the victory at Ac- 
tium, stationed there a large portion of their army, and at 

* Leake places the port of ^geira at Maura-Litharia, the Black Rocks, 
on the left of which on the summit of a hill are some vestiges of an an- 
ient city, which must have been ^geira. 

» Phoen. 163. ^ See above, § 8. ♦ Anab. v. 3. 8. 

* Castel di Morea. * Castel di Runieli. 



"^^ STRABO. Casaub. 387. 

present it is very well peopled, since it is a colony of the 
Romans. It has also a tolerably good shelter for vessels. 
Next is Dyme,i a city without a harbour, the most westerly of 
all the cities, whence also it has its name. It was formerly call- 
ed Stratos.2 It is separated from Eleia at Buprasium by the 
river Larisus,^ which rises in a mountain, called by some per- 
sons ScoUis, but by Homer, the Olenian rock. 

Antimachus having called Dyme Cauconis, some writers 
suppose that the latter word is used as an epithet derived 
from the Caucones, who extended as far as this quarter, as I 
have said before. Others think that it is derived from a river 
Caucon, in the same way as Thebes has the appellation of 
Dircsean, and Asopian ; and as Argos is called Inachian, and 
Troy, Simuntis."* 

^ A little before our time, Dyme had received a colony con- 
sisting of a mixed body of people, a remnant of the piratical 
bands, ^yhose haunts Pompey had destroyed. Some he settled 
at Soli in Cilicia, and others in other places, and some in this 
spot. 

Phara borders upon the Dymasan territory. The inhabit- 
ants of this Phara are called Pharenses ; those of the Mes- 
senian Phara, Pharatoe. In the territory of Phara there is a 
fountain Dirce, of the same name as that at Thebes. 

Olenus is deserted. It lies between Patrse and Dyme. 
The territory is occupied by the Dymaei. Next is Araxus,^ 
the promontory of the Eleian district, distant from the isth- 
mus 1000 stadia. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



1 . Arcadia is situated in the middle of Peloponnesus, and 
conta iflaJ^he_great est portion of the m ounlainQus tract in thaiL___^ 



' Sun-set. 

^ Gossellin suggests that the name Stratos was derived from a spot 
called the Tomb of Sostratus, held in veneration by the inhabitants of 
Dyme. 

^ The Risso or Mana. 

* From the fountain Dirce, and the rivers Asopus, Inachus, and 
Simois. 

* Cape Papa. 



B. VIII. c. VIII. § 2. ARCADIA. '75 

country. Its largest mountain is Cjllene.^ Its perpendicular 
""Tieiftrt^ according to some writers, is 20, according to others, 
about 15 stadia. 

The Arcadian nations, as the Azanes, and Parrhasii, and 
other similar tribes, seem to be the most ancient people of 
Greece.^ 

In consequence of the complete devastation of this country, 
it is unnecessary to give a long description of it. The cities, 
although formerly celebrated, have been destroyed by con- 
tinual wars ; and the husbandmen abandoned the country at 
the time that most of the cities were united in that called 
Megalopolis (the Great City). At present Megalopolis itself 
has undergone the fate expressed by the comic poet ; 

"the great city is a great desert." 

^ There are rich pastures for cattle, and particularly for horses 
"^and a sses,^whicli are used as stallions. The race of Arcadian 
horsesTsr^ell as the Argolic and Epidaurian, is preferred 
before all others. The uninhabited tracts of country in -^tolia 
and Acarnania are not less adapted to the breeding of horses 
than Thessaly. 

2. Man tinea owes its fame to Epaminondas, who conquered 
the Lacedaemonians there in a second battle, in which he lost 
his life.^ 

This city, together with Orchomenus, Herasa, Cleitor, Phe- 
neus, Stymphalus, Msenalus, Methydrium, Caphyeis, and Cy- 
naetha, either exist no longer, or traces and signs only of their 
existence are visible. There are still some remains of Tegea, 
and the temple of the Alaean Minerva remains. The latter 
is yet held in some little veneration, as well as the temple of 
the Lycaean Jupiter on the Lycaean mountain. But the places 
mentioned by the poet, as 

" Rhipe, and Stratia, and the windy Enispe," 

are difficult to discover, and if discovered, would be of no use 
from the deserted condition of the country. 

* Now bears the name of Zyria ; its height, as determined by theFrench 
commission, is 7788 feet above the level of the sea. Smith. 

' The Arcadians called themselves Autochthones, indigenous, and also 
Proseleni, born before the moon ; hence Ovid speaking of them says, 
" Luna gens prior ilia fuit.'* 

» B. c. 371. 



"^^ STRABO. CASAim. 389. 

3. The mountains of note, besides Cyllene, are Pholoe,^ Lj- 
caeum,2 Maenalus, and the Parthenium,^ as it is called, which 
extends from the territory of Tegea to that of Argos. 

4. We have spoken of the extraordinary circumstances re- 
lative to the Alpheius, Eurotas, and the Erasinus, which 
issues out of the lake Stymphalis, and now flows into the 
Argive country. 

Formerly, the Erasinus had no efflux, for the Berethra, 
which tl^e Arcadians call Zerethra,'* had no outlet, so that the 
city of the Stymphalii, which at that time was situated upon 
the lake, is now at the distance of 50 stadia. 

The contrary was the case with the Ladon, which was at 
one time prevented running in a continuous stream by the 
obstruction of its sources. For the Berethra near Pheneum, 
through which it now passes, fell in in consequence of an 
earthquake, which stopped the waters of the river, and af- 
fected far down the veins which supplied its source. This 
is the account of some writers. 

Eratosthenes says, that about the Pheneus, the river called 
Anias forms a lake, and then sinks under-ground into certain 
openings, which they call Zerethra. When these are ob- 
structed, the water sometimes overflows into the plains, and 
when they are again open the water escapes in a body 
from the plains, and is discharged into the Ladon ^ and the Al- 
pheius,6 so that it happened once at Olympia, that the land 
about the temple was inundated, but the lake was partly emp- 
tied. The Erasinus^ also, he says, which flows by Stymphalus, 
sinks into the ground under the mountain (Chaon ?), and re- 
appears in the Argive territory. It was this that induced 
Iphicrates, when besieging Stymphalus, and making no pro- 
gress, to attempt to obstruct the descent of the river into the 
ground by means of a large quantity of sponges, but desisted 
in consequence of some portentous signs in the heavens. 

Near the Pheneus there is also the water of the Styx, as it 
is called, a dripping spring of poisonous water, which was 
esteemed to be sacred. 

So much then respecting Arcadia. 

' Mauro vuni. » Mintha. 3 Partheni. 

* Called Katavothra by modern Greeks. 

* The Landona. « The Carbonaro. ' The Kephalari. 



B. VIII. c. viii. § 5. AECADIA. 77 

5.^ Polybius having said, that from Maleae towards the north 
as far as the Danube the distance is about 10,000 stadia, is cor- 
rected by Artemidorus, and not without reason ; for, accord- 
ing to the latter, from Maleae to JEgium the distance is 1400 
stadia, from hence to Cirrha is a distance by sea of 200 stadia ; 
hence by Heraclea to Thaumaci a journey of 500 stadia ; 
thence to Larisa and the river Peneus, 340 stadia; then 
through Tempe to the mouth of the Peneus, 240 stadia ; then 
to Thessalonica, 660 stadia; then to the Danube, through 
Idomene, and Stobi, and Dardanii, it is 3200 stadia. Ac- 
cording to Artemidorus, therefore, the distance from the 
Danube to Maleae would be 6500. The cause of this differ- 
ence is that he does not give the measurement by the shortest 
road, but by some accidental route pursued by a general of an 
army. 

It is not, perhaps, out of place to add the founders men- 
tioned by Ephorus, who settled colonies in Peloponnesus after 
the return of the Heracleidae ; as Aletes, the founder of Cor- 
inth ; Phalces, of Sicyon ; Tisamenus, of cities in Achaea ; Ox- 
ylus, of Elis, Cresphontes, of Messene ; Eurysthenes and Pro- 
cles, of Lacedaemon ; Temenus and Cissus, of Argos ; and 
Agrajus and Deiphontes, of the towns about Acte. 

* The following section is corrupt in the original ; it is translated ac- 
cording to the corrections proposed by Kramer, Gossellin, «&c. 



78 STRABO. 



Casaub. 390. 



BOOK IX. 



SUMMARY. 



Continuation of the geography of Greece. A panegyrical account of Athens. 
A description of Boeotia and Thessaly, with the sea-coast. 

CHAPTER I. 

1. Having completed the description of Peloponnesus, 
which we said was the first and least of the peninsulas of 
which Greece consists, we must next proceed to those which 
are continuous with it.^ 

We described the second to be that which joins Megaris 
to the Peloponnesus [so that Crommyon belongs to Megaris, 
and not to the Corinthians] ;2 the third to be that which is 
situated near the former, comprising Attica and Boeotia, some 
part of Phocis, and of the Locri Epicnemidii. Of these we 
are now to speak. 

Eudoxus says, that if we imagine a straight line to be 
drawn towards the east from the Ceraunian Mountains to 
Sunium, the promontory of Attica, it would leave, on the 
right hand, to the south, the whole of Peloponnesus, and on 
the left, to the north, the continuous coast from the Ceraunian 

' The peninsulas described by Strabo, are : 

1. The Peloponnesus, properly so called, bounded by the Isthmus of 
Corinth. 

2. The peninsula bounded by a line drawn from Pagae to Nisaea, and 
including the above. 

3. The peninsula bounded by a line drawn from the recess of the 
Crissaean Gulf, properly so called, (the Bay of Salona,) to Thermopylae, 
and includes the two first. 

4. The peninsula bounded by a line drawn from the Ambracic Gulf 
to Thermopylae and the Maliac Gulf, and includes the three former. 

5. The peninsula bounded by a line drawn from the Ambracic Gulf 
to the recess of the Thermaic Gulf, and contains the former four penin- 
sulas. 

' These words are transposed from after the word Epicnemidii, as sug- 
gested by Cramer. 



B. IX. c. I. § 2, 3. ATTICA. 79 

Mountains to the Crisaeau Gulf, and the whole of Megaris 
and Attica. He is of opinion that the shore which extends 
from Sunium to the Isthmus, would not have so great a curva- 
ture, nor have so great a bend, if, to this shore, were not 
added the parts continuous with the Isthmus and extending 
to the Hermionic Bay and Acte ; that in the same manner 
the shore, from the Ceraunian Mountains to the Gulf of 
Corinth, has a similar bend, so as to make a curvature, form- 
ing within it a sort of gulf, where Rhium and Antirrhium 
contracting together give it this figure. The same is the 
case with the shore about Crissa and the recess, where the 
Crissaean Sea terminates.^ 

2. As this is the description given by Eudoxus, a mathe- 
matician, skilled in the delineations of figures and the in- 
clinations of places, acquainted also with the places them- 
selves, we must consider the sides of Attica and Megaris, 
extending from Sunium as far as the Isthmus, to be curved, 
although slightly so. About the middle of the above-men- 
tioned line 2 is the Piraeus, the naval arsenal of the Athenians. 
It is distant from Schoenus, at the Isthmus, about 350 stadia ; 
from Sunium 330. The distance from the Piraeus to Pagas^ 
and from the Piraeus to Schoenus is nearly the same, yet the 
former is said to exceed the latter by 10 stadia. After having 
doubled Sunium, the navigation along the coast is to the 
north with a declination to the west. 

3^...A^te_( Att ica) is was h ed by two se as; it is at first 
narrow, then it widens towards the middle, yeFlt, neverlTie-^" 
less, takes a lunated bend towards Oropus in Boeotia, having 
the convex side towards the sea. This is the second, the 
eastern side of Attica. 

The remaining side is that to the north, extending from 
the territory of Oropus towards the west, as far as Megaris, 
and consists of the mountainous tract of Attica, having a 
variety of names, and dividing Boeotia from Attica ; so that, 
as I have before remarked, Boeotia, by being connected with 

' The Crissaean Gulf, properly so called, is the modern Bay of Salona. 
But probably Strabo (or rather Eudoxus, whose testimony he alleges) in- 
tended to comprehend, under the denomination of Crissaean, the whole 
gulf, more commonly called Corinthian by the ancients, that is, the gulf 
which commenced at the strait between Rhium and Antirrhium, and of 
which the Crissaean Gulf was only a portion. The text in the above 
passage is very corrupt. 

^ From Sunium to the Isthmus. ^ Libadostani. 



80 STRABO. Casaub. 391. 

two seas, becomes the Isthmus of the third peninsula, which 
we have mentioned before, and this Isthmus includes within 
it the Peloponnesus, Megaris, and Attica. For this reason 
therefore the present Attica was called by a play upon the 
words Acta and Actica, because the greatest part of it lies 
under the mountains, and borders on the sea ; it is narrow, 
and stretches forwards a considerable length as far as Suni- 
um. We shall therefore resume the description of these 
sides, beginning from the sea-coast, at the point where we 
left off. 

4. After Crommyon, rising above Attica, are the rocks 
called Scironides, which afford no passage along the sea-side. 
Over them, however, is a road which leads to Megara and 
Attica from the Isthmus. The road approaches so near the 
rocks that in many places it runs along the edge of precipices, 
for the overhanging mountain is of great height, and impass- 
able. 

Here is laid the scene of the fable of Sciron, and the 
Pityocamptes, or the pine-breaker, one of those who infested 
with their robberies the above-mentioned mountainous tract. 
They were slain by Theseus. 

The wind Argestes,' which blows from the left with 
violence, from these summits is called by the Athenians 
Sciron. 

After the rocks Scironides there projects the promontory 
Minoa, forming the harbour of Nissea. Nisaea is the arsenal 
of Megara, and distant 18 stadia from the city ; it is join- 
ed to it by walls on each side.^ This also had the name of 
Minoa. 

5. In former times the lonians occupied this country, and 
were also in possession of Attica, before the time of the 
building of Megara, wherefore the poet does not mention 
these places by any appropriate name, but when he calls all 
those dwelling in Attica, Athenians, he comprehends these 
also in the common appellation, regarding them as Athenians ; 
so when, in the Catalogue of the Ships, he says, 

" And they who occupied Athens, a well-built city,"^ 

' N. W. by W., i W. 

' Literally, " by legs on each side." Nisaea was united to Megara, as 
the Piraeus to Athens, by two long walls. ^ n j^^ r^^Q^ 



B. IX. c. I. § 6, 7. ATTICA. 81 

we must understand the present Megarenses also, as having 
taken a part in the expedition. The proof of this is, that 
Attica was, in former times, called Ionia, and las, and when 
the poet says, 

" There the Boeoti, and laones," ^ 

he means the Athenians. But of this Ionia Megaris was a 
part. 

6. Besides, the Peloponnesians and lonians having had fre- 
quent disputes respecting their boundaries, on which Crom- 
myonia also was situated, assembled and agreed upon a spot 
of the Isthmus itself, on which they erected a pillar having 
an inscription on the part towards Peloponnesus, 

"this is TELOPONNESUS, not IONIA ;'* 

and on the side towards Megara, 

"this is not PELOPONNESUS, BUT IONIA." 

Although those, who wrote on the history of Attica,^ differ 
in many respects, yet those of any note agree in this, that 
when there were four Pandionidae, ^geus, Lycus, Pallas, 
and Nisus ; and when Attica w as d ivided into four .por- 
tions, Nisus obtaineiJ,'by lot, Megaris, and founded NisaeaT 
TP1iiloChtyrugr"saysrihar^his government extencTpd' from' tl?e 
Isthmus to Pythium,^ but according to Andron, as far as 
Eleusis and the Thriasian plain. 

Since, then, different writers give different accounts of the 
division of the country into four parts, it is enough to adduce 
these lines from Sophocles where ^geus says, 

"My father determined that I should go away to Acta, having assigned 
to me, as the elder, the best part of the land ; to Lycus, the opposite gar- 
den of Eubcea ; for Nisus he selects the irregular tract of the shore of 
Sciron ; and the rugged Pallas, breeder of giants, obtained by lot the part 
to the south."* 

Such are the proofs which are adduced to sho w that Me- 
^ garis was a part of Attica. 

7. After the returu-of-the Heraclidae, and the partition of 
the country, many of the former possessors were banished from 
their own land hj the Heraclidse, and by the Dorians, who 
came with them, and migrated to Attica. Among these was 
Melanthus, the king of Messene. He was voluntarily ap- 

' II. xiii. 685. ' See note to vol. i. page 329. 

' This place is unkno-vvn. ■* From a lost tragedy of Sophocles. 

VOL. II. o 



'^r 



82 STRABO. Casavb. 393. 

pointed king of the Athenians, after having overcome in 
single combat, Xanthus, the king of the Boeotians. When 
Attica became populous by the accession of fugitives, the 
HeraclidaB were alarmed, and invaded Attica, chiefly at the 
instigation of the Corinthians and Messenians; the former 
of whom were influenced by proximity of situation, the latter 
by the circumstance that Codrus, the son of Melanthus, was 
at that time king of Attica. They were, however, defeated 
in battle and relinquished the whole of the country, except 
the territory of Megara, of which they kept possession, and 
founded the city Megara, where they introduced as inhabit- 
ants Dorians in place of lonians. They destroyed the pillar 
also which was the boundary of the country of the lonians 
and the Peloponnesians. 

8. The city of the Megarenses, after having experienced 
many changes, still subsists. It once had schools of philoso- 
phers, who had the name of the Megaric sect. They suc- 
ceeded Euclides, the Socratic philosopher, who was by birth a 
Megarensian, in the same manner as the Eleiaci, among whom 
was Pyrrhon, who succeeded Phaedon, the Eleian, who was also 
a Socratic philosopher, and as the Eretriaci succeeded Mene- 
demus the Eretrean. 

Mega xiSyJike^ Attica , is very g^ATMlp^^^^nJ th^ g^'f'ater part of 
it is oc cuBJgdbywhat argnmlled th e Oneii mountain5 ^_,au-kitt4 
of ridge, whichTeXlendltig fromTHe^cironides rocks to Boeotia 
and to Cithaeron, separates the sea at Nisasa from that near 
Pagae, called the Alcyonian Sea. 

9. In sailing from Nisaea to Attica there lie, in the course 
of the voyage, five small islands. Then succeeds Salamis, 
which is about 70, and according to others, 80, stadia in 
length. It has two cities of the same name. The ancient 
city, which looked towards ^gina, and to the south, as 
JEschylus has described it ; 

"^gina lies towards the blasts of the south : " 

it is uninhabited. The other is situated in a bay on a spot of a 
peninsular form contiguous to Attica. In former times it 
had other names, for it was called Sciras, and Cychreia, from 
certain heroes ; from the former Minerva is called Sciras ; 
hence also Scira, a place in Attica ; Episcirosis, a religious 
rite ; and Scirophorion, one of the months. From Cychreia 



B. IX. c. J.§ 10. ATTICA. 83 

the serpent Cychrides had its name, which Hesiod says 
Cychreus bred, and Eurylochus ejected, because it infested 
the island, but that Ceres admitted it into Eleusis, and it be- 
came her attendant. Salamis was called also Pityussa from 
" pitys," the pine tree. The island obtained its renown from 
the ^acidae, who were masters of it, particularly from Ajax, 
the son of Telamon, and from the defeat of Xerxes by the 
Greeks in a battle on the coast, and by his flight to his own 
country. The ^ginetae participated in the glory of that en- 
gagement, both as neighbours, and as having furnished a con- 
siderable naval force. [In Salamis is the river Bocarus, now 
called Bocalia.] ^ 

10. At present the Athenians possess the island Salamis. 
In former times they disputed the possession of it with the 
Megarians. Some allege, that Pisistratus, others that 
Solon, inserted in the Catalogue of Ships immediately after 
this verse, 

" Ajax conducted from Salamis twelve vessels," ^ 
the following words, 

" And stationed them by the side of the Athenian forces ;" 

and appealed to the poet as a witness, that the island origin- 
ally belonged to the Athenians. But this is not admitted by 
the critics, because many other lines testify the contrary. 
For why does Ajax appear at the extremity of the line not 
with the Athenians, but with the Thessalians under the com- 
mand of Protesilaus ; 

*' There were the vessels of Ajax, and Protesilaus." ^ 
And Agamemnon, in the Review* of the troops, 

" found the son of Peteus, Menestheus, the tamer of horses, standing, 
and around were the Athenians skilful in war : near stood the wily 
Ulysses, and around him and at his side, the ranks of the Cephalleni ; " * 

and again, respecting Ajax and the Salarainii ; 

" he came to the Ajaces,*** 

and near them, 

'• Idomeneus on the other side amidst the Cretans," ' 

not Menestheus. The Athenians then seem to have alleired 



"o"- 



» Probably interpolated. = II. ii. 557. " II. xiii. 681. 

* II. iv. 327. 5 II. iv. 273. « II. iii. 230. 

G 2 



84 STRABO. Casaub. 394. 

some such evidence as this from Homer as a pretext, and the 
Megarians to have replied in an opposite strain of this kind ; 
'' Ajax conducted ships from Salamis, from Polichna, from ^girussa, 
from Nisaea, and from Tripodes,"' 

vrhich are places in Megaris, of which Tripodes has the name 
of Tripodiscium, situated near the present forum of Megara. 

11. Some say, that Salamis is unconnected with Attica, be- 
cause the priestess of Minerva Polias, who may not eat the 
new cheese of Attica, but the produce only of a foreign 
land, yet uses the Salaminian cheese. But this is a mis- 
take, for she uses that which is brought from other islands, 
that are confessedly near Attica, for the authors of this 
custom considered all produce as foreign which was brought 
over sea. 

It seems as if anciently the present Salamis was a separate 
state, and that Megara was a part of Attica. 

On the sea-coast, opposite to Salamis, the boundaries of 
Megara and Attica are two mountains called Cerata, or 
Horns.2 

9. Next is the ojt^ Eleusis,^ in which is jhe temple of the 
Eleusinian Ceres, and the MysticJbj nclosure ("Secos)^,^ w higk^. 
Ictinj os buiit,^ capable of containingThe crowd of a theatre. 
It was~tliTs person that built ^ the Parthenon in the Acropolis, 
in honour of Minerva, when Pericles was the superintendent 
of the public works. The city is enumerated among the 
demi, or burghs. 

13. Then follows the Thriasian plain, and the coast, a 
demus of the same name,"^ then the promontory Amphiale,^ 
above which is a stone quarry ; and then the passage across 
the sea to Salamis, of about 2 stadia, which Xerxes en- 
deavoured to fill up with heaps of earth, but the sea-fight . 
and the flight of the Persians occurred before he had ac- 
complished it. 

1 II. ii. 557. 

2 These horns, according to Wheler, are two pointed rocks on the sum- 
mit of the mountain situated between Eleusis and Megara. On one of these 
rocks is a tower, called by the modern Greeks Cerata or Kerata-Pyrga. 

^ Lepsina. * 'LrjKOQ. ^ KUTeffKevaaev. 

^ Ittoitjo-e. Ictinus was also the architect of the temple of Apollo 
Epicurius near Phigalia in Arcadia. 

^ Thria. 

8 Scaramandra ; from the height above .-Egaleos, Xerxes witnessed 
the battle of Salamis. 



B. IX. c. I. § 14—16. ATTICA. 85 

There also are the Pharmacussae,^ two small islands, in the 
larger of which is shown the tomb of Circe. 

14. Above this coast is a mountain called Corydallus, and 
the demus Corjdalleis : then the harbour of Phoron, (Robbers,) 
and Psyttalia, a small rocky desert island, which, according to 
some writers, is the eye-sore of the Piraeus. 

Near it is Atalanta, of the same name as that between 
Euboea and the Locri ; and another small island similar to 
Psyttalia i thenthePirg us, which is also reckoned among the_ 

L5. The Munychia is__a hill i n the shape of a^ eniufmln 
hollow, a nd a great part of it excavated both by^atur eand 
"art, soas^o serv e for dwellings, with an entrance by a nar- 
— jQ w opening. Beneath it are three harbours. J^'ormerly the 
Munychia was surrounded by a wall, and occupied by dwell- 
ings, nearly in the same manner as the city of the Rhodians, 
comprehending within the circuit of the walls the Pira eus and 
the harbours fulL -o£-mat^ria1fi^f or ship-Sufld lng ; ""TTere also 
was the armoury, the work of Philon. "^'hp nniVnl^ ^ation 
was capable of receiving the four hundred vessels ;^which 
was the smallest number the Athenians were in the habit of 
keeping in readiness for sea. With this wall were connected 



i(V-\ 



Keepmg m reaainess lor sea. vv iin inis wan were connectea \ ^ 
the legs, that stretched out from the Asty. Th es&.werp tber /OclSIs^ 

lQng_ walls,3 Q- ^^^'^^^ ^" length, joining fhp^Asty^ in tlm- 

Pirseus] TTi^ in POTisfr^iiT(Rnfp of frpqnpr^t wars, the wall and 
t.hp. f ( )rt.ifip,ation_ of_th e Mu nychia wer e demolis h ed ; the. . 
Pir«>l ]g ^^r'^'i rnntvsio.toAto fl r-ftffiaitztn Wh, extending round the 
harbfturf^^ nnd thr tempk of Jupiter Soter. T he small por- 
ticoes of the temple contain admirable paintings, the work of 
celebrated artists, and the hypaethrum, statue s. The lon^ 
j^alls also* were destroyed, first demolished by t he Lacedaemo- 
"maSl'^HT^terwarHs by tlieTTonians, when feyiia took tke 
"TiraBUS and the Asty by siege.^ 

16. What is properly the Asty is a rock, situated in a 
plain, with dwellings around it. Upon the rock is the temple 

^ Megala Kyra, Micra Kyra. 

2 TO darv, the Asty, was the upper town, in opposition to the lower 
town, of Piraeus. See Smith's Dictionary for a very able and interesting 
article, At hence ; also Kiepert's Atlas von Hellas. 

^ Sylla took Athens, after a long and obstinate siege, on the J st March, 
B. c. 86. The city was given up to rapine and plunder. 



86 STRABO. Casaub. 396. 

of Minerva, and the ancient shrine of Minerva Polias, in 
which is the never-extinguished lamp ; .andLlh£L-Earthenon,- 
built_by Ictinus^JnjKhiclLisJhe Minerv a, in ivory, th e work 
of Pheidias. ~~ " 

-^"When, however, I consider the multitude of objects, so 
celebrated and far-famed, belonging to this city, I am re- 
luctant to enlarge upon them, lest what I write should depart 
too far from the proposed design of this work.^ For the 
words of Hegesias^ occur to me ; 

" I behold the acropolis, there is the symbol of the great trident ; ^ I see 
Eleusis ; I am initiated in the sacred mysteries ; that is Leoeorium ;* this 
the Theseium.* To describe all is beyond my power, for Attica is the 
chosen residence of the gods; and the possession of heroes its pro- 
genitors." 

Yet this very writer mentions only one of the remarkable 
things to be seen in the Acropolis. Polemo Periegetes ^ how- 
ever composed four books on the subject of the sacred offer- 
ings which were there. Hegesias is similarly sparing of 
remarks on other parts of the city, and of the territory : after 
speaking of Eleusis, one of the hundred and seventy demi, to 
which as they say four are to be added, he mentions no other 
by name. 

17. Many, if not all the demi, have various fabulous tales 
and histories connected with them: with Aphidiia is con- 
nected the rape of Helen by Theseus, the sack of the place by 
the Dioscuri, and the recovery of their sister rjKith Maxa- 

' Strabo thus accounts for his meagre description of the public build- 
ings at Athens, for which, otherwise, he seems to have had no inclination. 

2 Hegesias was an artist of great celebrity, and a contemporary of 
Pheidias. The statues of Castor and Pollux by Hegesias, are supposed by 
Winkelman to be "the same as those which now stand on the stairs lead- 
ing to the Capitol, but this is very doubtful. Smith. 

^ In the Erechtheium. 

* The Heroum, or temple dedicated to the daughters of Leos, who were 
offered up by their father as victims to appease the wrath of Minerva in 
a time of pestilence. The position of the temple is doubtfully placed by 
Smith below the Areiopagus. 

* The well-known temple of Theseus being the best preserved of all 
the monuments of Greece. 

* An eminent geographer. He made extensive journeys through 
Greece to collect materials for his geographical works, and as a collector 
of inscriptions on votive offerings and columns, he was one of the earlier 
contributors to the Greek Anthology. Smith. 



B. IX. c. I. § 18, 19. ATTICA. 87 

thon , the ha^^ ^, ypih^i.hp'. Persians ; at Rhamnus was the 
statue of Nemesis, which, according to some writers, is the 
work of Diodotus, according to others, of Agoracritqs, the 
Parian, so well executed, both as to size and beautj, as to 
rival the art of Pheidias. Deceleia was the rf^ndpzvQ'ig r^f fiia ^ 
p^|f^)pnnnp«ait^l]<i in the DeccHc war. From Phyle Thrasybu- 
lus brought back the people to the Pirseus, and thence to the 
Asty. Thus also much might be told respecting many other 
places ; the Leocorium, the Theseium, and the Lyceum have 
their own fables, and the Olympicum, called also the Olym- 
pium, which the king, who dedicated it, left, at his death, 
half finished ; so also much might be said of the Academia, 
of the gardens of the philosophers, of the Odeium,^ of the 
Stoa Poecile, [or painted Portico,] and of the temples in the 
city, all of which contain the works of illustrious artists. 

18. The account would be much longer if we were to in- 
quire who were the founders of the city from the time of 
Cecrops, for writers do not agree, as is evident from the names 
of persons and of places. For example, Attica,^ they say, 
was derived from Actaeon ; Atthis, and Attica, from Atthis, 
the daughter of Cranaus, from whom the inhabitants had the 
name Cranai ; Mopsopia from Mopsopus ; Ionia from Ion, the 
son of Xuthus ; Poseidonia and Athense, from the deities of 
that name. We have said, that the nation of the Pelasgi seem 
to have come into this country in the course of their migra- 
tions, and were called from their wanderings, by the Attici, 
Pelargi, or storks. 

19. In proportion as an earnest desire is excited to ascer- 
tain the truth about remarkable places and events, and in 
proportion as writers, on these subjects, are more numerous, 
so much the more is an author exposed to censure, who does 
not make himself master of what has been written. For ex- 
ample, in "the Collection of the Rivers," Callimachus says, 
that he should laugh at the person, who would venture to 
describe the Athenian virgins as 

• The Odeium was a kind of theatre erected by Pericles in the Ce- 
ramic quarter of the city, for the purpose of holding musical meetings. 
The roof, supported by columns, was constriicted out of the wreck of the 
Persian fleet conquered at Salarais. There was also the Odeium of 
Regilla, but this was built in the time of the Antonines. 

^ The country was called Actica from Actaeos. Parian Chronicle. 



88 STRABO. Casaub. 397. 

" drinking of the pure waters of the Eridanus," 
from which even the herds would turn away. There are 
indeed fountains of water, pure and fit for drinking, it is said, 
without the gate called Diochares, near the Lyceium ; formerly 
also a fountain was erected near it, which afforded a large sup- 
ply of excellent water ; but if it is not so at present, is it at 
all strange, that a fountain supplying abundance of pure and 
potable water at one period of time, should afterwards have 
the property of its waters altered ? 

In subjects, however, which are so numerous, we cannot 
enter into detail ; yet they are not so entirely to be passed 
over in silence as to abstain from giving a condensed account 
of some of them. 

20. It will suffice then to add, that, according to Philo- 

chorus, when the country was devastated on the side of the 

sea by the Carians, and by land by the Boeotians, whom they 

called Aones, Cecrops first settled a large body of people in 

twelve cities, the names of which were Cecropia, Tetrapolis, 

Epacria, Deceleia, Eleusis, Aphidna, (although some persons 

write it in the plural number, Aphidnae,) Thoricus, Brauron, 

Cytherus, Sphettus, Cephisia [Phalerus]. Again, at a sub- 

. sequent period, Theseus is said to have collected the inhabit- 

V ants of the twelve cities into one, the present city^r — ^ 

V Formerly, th ^A th Q niftf >s^ w ft p;nvprnfei d. b jr J ^ing^s : they 

tyrants were their masters, as Pisistratus an'd-^is sons • after- 
wards ther ewas^ an oligarchy both of the t ouTlmja j^r^fr^d 
of the thirty tyranrs, whom the ijacedaemonii set over them ; 
these were expelled by the Athenians, who retained the form 
of a democracy, till the Romans established their empire. 
For, although they were somewhat oppressed by the Macedo- 
nian kings, so as to be compelled to obey them, yet they pre- . 
served entire the same form of government. Some say, that 
the government was very well administered during a period 
of ten years, at the time that Casander was king of the 
Macedims^m. For this person, althougTiifi other respects 
*~Tie was disposed to be tyrannical, yet, when he was master of 
the city, treated the Athenians witlrkind«ess and generosity. 
He placed at the head of the citizens Demetrius the Phalerean, "^ 
a disciple of Theophrastus the philosopher, who, far from 
dissolving, restored the democracy. This appears from his 



B. IX, c. I. § 21, 22. ATTICA. 89 

memoirs, which he composed concerning this mode of govern- 
ment. But so much hatred and dislike prevailed against 
anything connected with oligarchy, that, after the death of 
Casander, he was obliged to fly into Egypt. ^ The insurgents 
pulled down more than three hundred of his statues, which 
were melted down, and according to some were cast into 
chamber-pots. The Romans, after their conquest, finding 
them governed by a democracy,^ maintained their independ- 
ence and liberty. During the Mithridatic war, the king set 
over them such tyrants as he pleased. Aristio, who was the 
most powerful of these persons, oppressed the city ; he was 
taken by Sylla, the Roman general, after a siege,^ and put to 
death. The citizens were pardoned, and, to this time, the 
city enjoys liberty, and is respected by the Romans. 

21. Next to the Pirseus is the demus Phalereis, on the suc- 
ceeding line of coast, then Halimusii, ^xoneis, Alaeeis, the 
jExonici, Anagyrasii ; then Theoris, Lampesis ; ^gilieis, 
Anaphlystii, Azenieis ; these extend as far as the promontory 
Sunium. Between the above-mentioned demi is a long 
promontory. Zoster,"* the first after the ^xoneis ; then an- 
other promontory after Thoreis, Astypalaea ; in the front of 
the former of these is an island, Phabra,^ and of the latter an 
island, Eleiissa,^ opposite the -^xoneis is Hydrussa. About 
Anaphlystum is the Paneum, and the temple of Venus Colias. 
Here, they say, were thrown up by the waves the last por- 
tions of the wrecks of the vessels after the naval engagement 
with the Persians near Salamis, of which remains Apollo pre- 
dicted, 

" The women of Colias shall shudder at the sight of oars." 
In front of these places lies off, at no great distance, the island 
Belbina ; and the rampart of Patroclus ; but most of these 
islands are uninhabited. 

22. On doubling the promontory at Sunium, we meet with 
Sunium, a considerable demus ; then Thoricus, next a demus 
called Potamus, from which the inhabitants are called Po- 
tamii ; next Prasia,'^ Steiria, Brauron, where is the temple of 

' Demetrius Phalereus was driven from Athens, 307 b. c, whence he 
retired to Thebes. The death of Casander took place 298 b, c. 

^ Aratus, the Achaean general, 245 b. c, drove from Attica the Lace- 
daemonian garrisons, and restored liberty to the Athenians. 

^ B. G. 87. * C. Halikes. * Falkadi. « Elisa. ' Raphti. 



90 STRABO. Casaub. 399. 

Diana Brauronia, Halse Araplienides, where is the temple 
of Diana Tauropola; then Myrrhinus, Probalinthus, Mara- 
thon, where Miltiades entirely destroyed the army of Datis 
the Persian, without waiting for the Lacedaemonians, who de- 
ferred setting out till the full moon. There is laid the scene 
of the fable of the Marathonian bull, which Theseus killed. 

Next to Marathon is Tricorynthus, then Rhamnus, where is 
the temple of Nemesis ; then Psaphis, a city of the Oropii. 
Somewhere about this spot is the Amphiaraeum, an oracle 
once in repute, to which Amphiareus fled, as Sophocles says, 

'* The dusty Theban soil opened and received him with his armour, and 
the four-horse chariot." 

Oropus has frequently been a subject of contention, for it is 
situated on the confines of Attica and Boeotia. 

In front of this coast, before Thoricum and Sunium, is 
the island Helena ; it is rocky and uninhabited, extending in 
length about 60 stadia, which, they say, the poet mentions in 
the words, in which Alexander addresses Helen, 

" Not when first I carried thee away from the pleasant Lacedeemon, 
across the deep, and in the island Cranae embraced thee." ' 

For Cranae, from the kind of intercourse which took place 
there, is now called Helena. Next to Helena,^ Euboea^ 
lies in front of the following tract of coast. It is long and 
narrow, and stretching along the continent like Helena. 
From Sunium to the southern point of Euboea, which is called 
Leuce Acte,'* [or, the white coast,] is a voyage of 300 stadia, 
but we shall speak hereafter of Euboea. 

It would be tedious to recite the names of the Demi of 
Attica in the inland parts, on account of their number.^ 

23. Among the mountains which are most celebrated, are 

the Hymettus, Brilessus, Lycabettus, Parnes, and Corydallus.^ 

Near the city are excellent quarries of Hymettian and Pen- 

telic marble. The Hymettus produces also the finest honey. 

_^Jlhe- •9ik'€l^ -mines mJAttica &t JSrst of importa nce^ bu t, 

— ai-« now "UA4««ftted.«»-Jl^^jaa3iito£.n, when the mines yielded 

* II. iii. 443. 2 Macronisi. ' Negropont. 

* From C. Colonna to C. Mantelo. 

* Smith gives an alphabetical list of 160 demi, 

* Monte San Giorgio. 



B. IX. c. II. § 1. BCEOTIA. 91 ' 

a badj eturn to their labour^,£QjiMaftitte^4<>-^rtte'^i>ftmcfy4 ho old ■■■ 
refuse and scoria, and hence obtained very pure silver, for^ 
Lhy ftjl'UlW WUrktaeirilM carrtedon the process in the furnace"^ 
unskilfully. 

Although the Attic is the best of all the kinds of honey, 
yet by far the best of the Attic honey is that found in the 
country of the silver mines,' which they call acapniston, or un- 
smoked, from the mode of its preparation. 

24. Among the rivers is the Cephissus, having its source 
from the Trinemeis, it flows through the plain (where are the 
Gephyra, and the Gephyrismi) between the legs or walls ex- 
tending from the Asty to the PiraBus, and empties itself into 
the Phalericum. Its character is chiefly that of a winter 
torrent, for in the summer time it fails altogether. Such 
also, for the most part, is the Ilissus, which flows from the 
other side of the Asty to the same coast, from the parts above 
Agra, and the Lyceium, and the fountain celebrated by Plato 
in the Phaedrus. So much then respecting Attica. 



CHAPTER 11. 



1. Next in order is Boeotia. When I speak of this country, 
and of the contiguous nations, I must, for the sake of per- 
spicuity, repeat what I have said before. 

We have said, that the sea-coast stretches from Sunium to 
the north as far as Thessalonica, inclining a little toward the 
west, and having the sea on the east, that parts situated above 
this shore towards the west extend like belts ^ parallel to one 
another through the whole country. The first of these belts 
is Attica with Megaris, the eastern side of which extends 

* As Mount Hymettus was always celebrated for producing the best 
honey, it would appear from this passage that there were silver mines in 
it. It appears however that the Athenians had failed to discover silver 
in Hymettus. It is not impossible that Strabo has adopted literally some 
proverb or saymg of the miners, such as, " Ours is the best honey." 

^ In the following description of Greece, Strabo employs the term belts 
or bands (raiviag) for the territory intercepted between the lines forming 
the peninsulas. See note, chap. i. § 1, of this book. 



^^ STRABO. Casaub. 400. 

from Sunium to Oropus, and Boeotia ; on the western side is 
the isthmus, and the Alcyonian sea commencing at Pagse and 
extending as far as the boundaries of Boeotia near Creusa, 
the remaining two sides are formed by the sea-shore from 
Sunium to the Isthmus, and the mountain tract nearly paral- 
lel with this, which separates Attica from Boeotia. 

The second belt is Boeotia, stretching from east to west 
from the Euboean sea to the Crisaean Gulf, nearly of equal 
length with Attica, or perhaps somewhat less ; in quality of 
soil however it greatly surpasses Attica. 

2. Ephorus declares the superiority of Boeotia over the 
bordering nations not only in this respect, but also because it 
alone has three seas adjoining it, and a great number of 
harbours. At the Crisaean and Corinthian Gulfs it received 
the commodities of Italy, Sicily, and Africa. Towards Eu- 
boea the sea-coast branches off on each side of the Euripus ; 
in one direction towards Aulis and Tanagrica, in the other, 
to Salganeus and Anthedon ; on one side there is an open 
sea to Egypt, and Cyprus, and the islands ; on the other to 
Macedonia, the Propontis, and the Hellespont. He adds also 
that Euboea is almost a part of Boeotia, because the Euripus is 
very narrow, and the opposite shores are brought into commu- 
nication by a bridge of two plethra in length.^ 

For these reasons he praises the country, and says, that it 
has natural advantages for obtaining supreme command, but 
that from want of careful education and learning, even those 
who were from time to time at the head of affairs did not long 
maintain the ascendency they had acquired, as appears from 
the example of Epaminondas ; at his death the Thebans imme- 
diately lost the supremacy they had just acquired. This is 
to be attributed, says Ephorus, to their neglect of learning, and 
of intercourse with mankind, and to their exclusive cultiva- 
tion of military virtues. It must be added also, that learning 
and knowledge are peculiarly useful in dealing with Greeks, 
but in the case of Barbarians, force is preferable to reason. In 
fact the Romans in early times, when carrying on war with 
savage nations, did not require such accomplishments, but 
from the time that they began to be concerned in transac- 
tions with more civilized people, they applied themselves to 
learning, and so established universal dominion. 
* About 67 yards. See also b. x. ch. i. § 8. 



B. IX. c. II. § 3, 4. BCEOTIA. 93 

3. Boeotia was first occupied bj Barbarians, Aones, and 
Temmices, a wandering people from Sunium, by Leleges, and 
Hyantes. Then the Phoenicians, who accompanied Cadmus, 
possessed it. He fortified the Cadmeian land, and trans- 
mitted the government to his descendants. The Phoenicians 
founded Thebes, and added it to the Cadmeian territory. They 
preserved their dominion, and exercised it over the greatest 
part of the Boeotians till the time of the expedition of the 
Epigoni. At this period they abandoned Thebes for a short 
time, but returned again. In the same manner when they 
were ejected by Thracians and Pelasgi, they established their 
rule in Thessaly together with the Arnjei for a long period, 
so that all the inhabitants obtained the name of Boeotians. 
They returned afterwards to their own country, at the time 
the ^olian expedition was preparing at Aulis in Boeotia 
which the descendants of Orestes were equipping for Asia. 
After having united the Orchomenian tract to Boeotia (for 
formerly they did not form one community, nor has Homer 
enumerated these people with the Boeotians, but by them- 
selves, calling them Minyse) with the assistance of the Orcho- 
menians they drove out the Pelasgi, who went to Athens, a 
part of which city is called from this people Pelasgic. The 
Pelasgi however settled below Hyraettus. The Thracians 
retreated to Parnassus. The Hyantes founded Hyampolis in 
Phocis. 

4. Ephorus relates that the Thracians, after making treaty 
with the Boeotians, attacked them by night, when encamped 
in a careless manner during a time of peace. The Thracians 
when reproached, and accused of breaking the treaty, replied, 
that they had not broken it, for the conditions were "by 
day," whereas they had made the attack by night, whence 
the common proverb, " a Thracian shuffle." 

The Pelasgi and the Boeotians also went during the war to 
consult the oracle. He cannot tell, he says, what answer was 
given to the Pelasgi, but the prophetess replied to the Boeo- 
tians that they would prosper by committing some act of 
impiety. The messengers sent to consult the oracle suspecting 
the prophetess of favouring the Pelasgi on account of their 
relationship, (for the temple had originally belonged to the 
Pelasgi,) seized the woman, and threw her upon a burning 
pile, considering, that whether her conduct had been right or 



94 STRABO. Casal-b. 402. 

wrong, in either case they were right ; for if she had uttered 
a deceitful answer she was duly punished ; but if not, they 
had only complied with the command of the oracle. Those 
in charge of the temple did not hke to put to death, particu- 
larly in the temple, the perpetrators of this act without a 
formal judgment, and therefore subjected them to a trial. 
They were summoned before the priestesses, who were also the 
prophetesses, being the two survivors out of the three. The 
Boeotians alleged that there was no law permitting women to 
act as judges ; an equal number of men were therefore chosen. 
The men acquitted ; the women condemned. As the votes 
were equal, those for acquittal prevailed. Hence at Dodona 
it is to the Boeotians only that men deliver oracles. The 
prophetesses however give a different meaning to the answer 
of the oracle, and say, that the god enjoins the Boeotians to 
steal the tripods used at home, and to send them annually to 
Dodona. This they did, for they were in the habit of carry- 
ing away by night some of the dedicated tripods, which they 
concealed in their clothes, in order to convey them clandes- 
tinely as offerings to Dodona. 

5. After this they assisted Penthilus in sending out the 
-^olian colony, and despatched a large body of their own peo- 
ple with him, so that it was called the Boeotian colony. 

A long time afterwards the country was devastated during 
the war with the Persians at Plataeae. They afterwards so 
far recovered their power, that the Thebans, having van- 
quished the Lacedaemonians in two battles,^ disputed the sove- 
reignty of Greece. Epaminondas, however, was killed, and 
they were disappointed in their hope of obtaining this supre- 
macy. They, nevertheless, fought in defence of the Greeks 
against the Phoceeans, who had plundered their common tem- 
ple. Reduced by this war, and by the Macedonians, at the 
time they invaded Greece, they lost their city, which was 
afterwards restored to them, and rebuilt by the Macedonians 
themselves, who had razed it.^ From that period to our own 

^ Leuctra and Mantineia. 

' The Thebans, who were formerly the allies of the Macedonians, were 
opposed to Philip of Macedon at the battle of Chaeroneia. On the acces- 
sion to the throne of Alexander, the city was destroyed, b. c. 335 ; 6000 
of the inhabitants were killed, and 30,000 sold as slaves. The city was 
rebuilt, b. c. 316, by Casander. Pausanias, ix. 7. The ravages com- 



6—8. BCEOTIA. 



95 



times their affairs have continued to decline, nor do they retain 
the appearance even of a considerable village. Other cities 
(of Boeotia) have experienced a similar fate, with the excep- 
tion of Tanagra and Thespise, which in comparison with 
Thebes are in a tolerable condition. 

6. We are next to make a circuit of the country, beginning 
at the sea-coast, opposite Euboea, which is continuous with 
that of Attica. 

We begin this circuit from Oropus, and the Sacred Har- 
bour,^ which is called Delphinium, opposite to which is the 
ancient Eretria in Euboea, having a passage across of 60 
stadia. After Delphinium, at the distance of 20 stadia, is 
Oropus, and opposite to this is the present Eretria.^ There 
is a passage over to it of 40 stadia. 

7. Next is Delium,3 a place sacred to Apollo, in imitation 
of that at Delos. It is a small town of the Tanagraeans, at 
the distance of 30 stadia from Aulis. 

To this place the Athenians, after their defeat in battle, 
fled in disorder.'* In the flight, Socrates the philosopher 
(who having lost his horse, was serving on foot) observed 
Xenophon, the son of Gryllus, upon the ground, fallen from 
his horse ; he raised him upon his shoulders and carried him 
away in safety, a distance of many stadia, until the rout was 
at an end. 

8. Then follows a great harbour, which is called Bathys 
(or deep harbour) : then Aulis,^ a rocky spot, and a village 
of the Tanagraeans, with a harbour capable of containing 50 
small vessels. So that probably the naval station of the 

mitted by Sylla in the war against Mithridates, which completed the final 
ruin of Thebes, must have been fresh in the memory of Stfabo. 

* Hieros Limen. 

2 New Eretria stood at Paleocastro, and old Eretria at Vathy. 
' Dramesi. * Athenaeus, v. 15. 

* Livy states (xlv. 27) that Aulis was distant three miles from Chalcis ; 
by Homer (II. ii. 303) it is called AvXtg TriTpriEaaa. About three miles 
south of Chalcis, on the Boeotian coast, are two bays, separated from each 
other by a rocky peninsula : the northern is small and winding, the south- 
ern spreads out at the end of a channel into a large circular basin. The 
latter harbour, as well as a village situated a mile to the southward of it, 
is called Vathy, a name evidently derived from (3a9vQ Xifiriv. We may 
therefore conclude that Aulis was situated on the rocky peninsula be- 
tween these two bays. Leake and Smith. 



^^ STRABO. Casaub. 403. 

Greeks was in the Great Harbour. Near it is the Chalcidic 
Euripus, to which, from Sunium, are 70 stadia. On the 
Euripus, as I have already said, there is a bridge of two 
plethra in length ; ^ at each end is a tower, one on the side of 
Chalcis, the other on the side of Boeotia ; and a passage (for 
the water) is constructed between them.^ With regard to the 
tide of the Euripus, it is sufficient to say thus much, that ac- 
cording to report, it changes seven times each day and night ; 
the cause must be investigated elsewhere. 

9. Salganeus is a place situated near the Euripus, upon a 
height. It has its name from Salganeus, a Boeotian, who was 
buried there. He was guide to the Persians, when they 
sailed into this passage from the Maliac Gulf. It is said, 
that he was put to death before they reached the Euripus, by 
the commander of the fleet, Megabates, as a traitor, for con- 
ducting the fleet deceitfully into a narrow opening of the sea, 
having no outlet. The Barbarian, however, perceived his 
mistake, and regretting what he had done, thought him wor- 
thy of burial, because he had been unjustly put to death. 

10. Near Oropus^ is a place called Graia, the temple also 
of Amphiaraus, and the monument of Narcissus the Eretrian, 
surnamed Sigelus, (the Silent,) because passers-by keep si- 
lence. Some say that Graia and Tanagra* are the same. 
The territory of Poemandris, however, is the same as that of 
Tanagra. The Tanagreeans are also called Gephyrseans. The 
temple of Amphiaraus was transferred by command of an 
oracle to this place from the Thebaic Cnopia. 

11. Mycalessus is a village in the Tanagrian district. It 
lies upon the road from Thebes to Chalcis. It is called in 
the Boeotian dialect Mycalettus. Harma, also, an uninhabited 
village in the Tanagrian territory, derives its name from the 

^ See above, c. ii. § 2. 

' di(fKod6firiTaL d' elg avTovg avpiyli. The passage does not give a clear 
explanation of the fact. Livy, b. xxviii. c. 6. 

3 Thucydides, b. ii. ch. 23, says that Graia is on the road leading from 
Oropus to Athens. 

* In modern maps a modern town, Skoimandri, is laid down near the 
ruins of Tanagra. Pausanias, b. ix. ch. 20, informs us why Tanagra was 
called both Poimandria and Graia. Tanagra was the daughter of tEoIus 
and wife of Poimandrus ; she arrived at such an extreme old age, as to 
receive the title of Graia, the Old. 



B. IX. c. II. § 12. B(EOTIA. 97 

chariot (ap/za) of Amphiaraus, and is a different place from 
Harma in Attica, near Phyle,' a demus of Attica bordering 
upon Tanagra. There the proverb originated, 

" When it has lightened through Harma," 

The Pytha'istae, as they are called, signify, by the order of an 
oracle, the occurrence of any lightning when they are look- 
ing in the direction of Harma, and despatch the sacrifice to 
Delphi whenever it is observed. They were to keep watch 
for three months, and for three days and nights in each month, 
at the altar of Jupiter Astrapius, or Dispenser of lightning. 
This altar is in the wall, between the Pythium and the Olym- 
pium. Respecting the Boeotian Harma, some say, that Am- 
phiaraus fell in battle out of his chariot, [harma,] near the 
spot where his temple now stands, and that the chariot was 
drawn empty to the place, which bears the same name 
[ Harma]. ^ Others say, that the chariot of Adrastus, in his 
flight, was there dashed in pieces, but that he himself escaped 
on his horse Areion. According to Philochorus, his life was 
preserved by the inhabitants of the village ; in consequence 
of which they obtained among the Argives the right of citi- 
zenship. 

12. On going from Thebes to Argos,^ on the left hand is 
Tanagra ; and [near the road] on the right lies Hyria. Hyria 
now belongs to the Tanagrian territory, but formerly to the 
Thebais. Here Hyrieus is fabled to have lived, and here is 
the scene of the birth of Orion, which Pindar mentions in the 
dithyrambics. It is situated near Aulis. Some persons say 
that HysiaB is called Hyria, which belongs to Parasopia, situ- 
ated below Cithaeron, near Erythras, in the inland parts ; it is 
a colony of the Hyrienses, and was founded by Nycteus, the 
father of Antiope. * There is also in the Argive territory a 
village, Hysise, the inhabitants of which are called HysiataB. 
Erythras in Ionia is a colony of this Erythras. 

' Argyrokastro. 

' The exact site of Harma is uncertain. Leake supposes it to have 
occupied the important pass on the road from Thebes to Chalcis, leading 
to the maritime plain. Pausanias, b. ix. ch. 19, says that it obtained its 
name from the chariot of Amphiaraus having disappeared there. 

' We should perhaps read Harma, says Kramer; but in that case 
Tanagra of Boeotia would be upon the right hand. The reading Argos is 
a manifest error, and the whole passage is corrupt. 

VOL. II. H 



98 STRABO. Casaub. 405 

Heleon, a Tanagrian village, has its name from (Hele) the 
marshes there. 

13. After Salganeus is Anthedon, a city with a harbour, 
the last on the Boeotian coast towards Euboea, as the poet 
says, 

" Anthedon at the extremity." * 

As we proceed a little farther, there are besides two small 
towns, belonging to the Boeotians, Larymna, near which fhe 
Cephissus discharges its waters ; and farther above, Halee, of 
the same name as the Attic demus. Opposite to this coast is 
situated, it is said, JEgae^ in Euboea, where is the temple of 
the ^gaean Neptune, of which we have before spoken. There 
is a passage across from Anthedon to -^gae of 120 stadia, and 
from the other places much less than this. The temple is 
situated upon a lofty hill, where was once a city. Near JEgeB 
was Orobiae.^ In the Anthedonian territory is the mountain 
Messapius,'* which has its name from Messapus, who when he 
came into lapygia called it Messapia. Here is laid the scene 
of the fable respecting the Anthedonian Glaucus, who, it is 
said, was transformed into a sea-monster.^ 

14. Near Anthedon is a place called Isus, and esteemed 
sacred, belonging to Boeotia ; it contains remains of a city, and 
the first syllable of Isus is short. Some persons are of opinion, 
that the verse ought to be written, ^laov te ^aderjv 'Avdrjdova 
T iayjXTOiiitjav, 

"The sacred Isus, and the extreme Anthedon," 

lengthening the first syllable by poetical licence for the sake 
of the metre, instead of Wiaav te i^adirjv, 

" The sacred Nisa ; " 

for Nisa is not to be found anywhere in* Boeotia, as Apollo- 
dorus says in his observations on the Catalogue of the Ships ; 

' II. ii. 508. 

2 Leake supposes Mgx to have stood near Limni. Strabo, below, ch. 
vii. § 4, says that probably the ^gsean Sea had its name from this place. 

^ Of this place, although mentioned by Thucydides, b. iii. ch. 89, veiy 
little is known, in consequence no doubt of its having almost entirely 
disappeared by an earthquake, which took place about 426 or 425 
years b. c. * Ktypa-vuna. 

* Near Anthedon was a place called the Leap of Glaucus, where he 
threw himself into the sea. Pausanias, ix. 22. The ruins of Anthedon 

iSmith. 



B. IX. c. II. § 15, 16. BCEOTIA. 99 

so that Nisa could not stand in this passage, unless by Nisa 
Homer meant Isus, for there was a city Nisa, in Megaris, 
from whence Isus was colonized, situated at the base of 
Cithaeron, but it exists no longer.^ Some however write 
Kpevffdv re ^aderjVy 

" The sacred Creusa," 

meaning the present Creusa, the arsenal of the Thespieans, 
situated on the Crisaean Gulf. Others write the passage 
'^apdg T£ i^aOiag, 

" The sacred Pharae," 

Pharge is one of the four villages, (or Tetracomiae,) near Ta- 
nagra, namely, Heleon, Harma, Mycalessus, Pharae. Others 
again write the passage thus, Nuadv re <^a0£i?v, 

" The sacred Nysa." 

Nysa is a village of Helicon. 

Such then is the description of the sea-coast opposite 
Euboea. 

15. The places next in order, in the inland parts, are 
hollow plains, surrounded everywhere on the east and west by 
mountains ; on the south by the mountains of Attica, on the 
north by those of Phocis : on the west, Cithaeron inclines, ob- 
liquely, a little above the Crisaean Sea ; it begins contiguous 
to the mountains of Megaris and Attica, and then makes a 
bend towards the plains, and terminates near the Theban 
territory. 

16. Some of these plains become lakes, by rivers spreading 
over or falling into them and then flowing off. Some are 
dried up, and being very fertile, are cultivated in every pos- 
sible way. But as the ground underneath is full of caverns 
and fissures, it has frequently happened, that violent earth- 
quakes have obstructed some passages, and formed others un- 
der-ground, or on the surface, the water being carried off, 
either by subterranean channels, or by the formation of lakes 
and rivers on the surface. If the deep subterranean passages 
are stopped up, the waters of the lakes increase, so as to inun- 
date and cover cities and whole districts, which become un- 
covered, if the same or other passages are again opened. The 
same regions are thus traversed in boats or on foot, according 

^ This passage is very corrupt. 
H 2 



100 STRABO. Casaub. 40S. 

to circumstances ; and the same cities are, occasionally, on the 
borders of, or at a distance from, a lake. 

17. One of two things took place. The cities either re- 
tained their sites, when the rise of the water was insufficient 
to overflow the houses, or they were deserted and rebuilt in 
some other place, when the inhabitants, being frequently ex- 
posed to danger from their vicinity to the lake, released them- 
selves from further apprehension, by changing to a more 
distant or higher situation. It followed that the cities thus 
rebuilt retained the same name. Formerly, they might have 
had a name derived from some accidental local circumstance, 
but now the site does not correspond with the derivation of 
the name. For example, it is probable that Platasee was so 
called, from TrXar?;, or the flat part of the oar, and Plataeans 
from gaining their livelihood by rowing ; but at present, 
since they live at a distance from the lake, the name can no 
longer, with equal propriety, be derived from this local cir- 
cumstance. Helos also, and Heleon, and Heilesium^ were so 
called from their situation close to eXrj, (Hele,) or marshes ; 
but at present the case is different with all these places ; either 
they have been rebuilt, or the lake has been greatly reduced 
in height by a subsequent efflux of its waters ; for this is pos- 
sible. 

18. This is exemplified particularly in the Cephissus,^ 
which fills the lake Copais.^ When the increase of the water 
of that lake was so great, that Copoe was in danger of being 
swallowed up, (the city is mentioned by the poet, and from it 
the lake had its name,)'^ a fissure in the ground, which took 
place not far from the lake, and near Copaj, opened a subter- 
raneous channel, of about 30 stadia in length, and received the 
river, which reappeared on the surface, near Upper Larymna 
in Locris ; for, as has been mentioned, there is another Larymna, 
in Boeotia, on the sea, surnamed the Upper by the Romans. 
The place where the river rises again is called Anchoe, as 
also the lake near it. It is from this point that the Cephissus 
begins its course^ to the sea. When the overflowing of the 
water ceased, there was also a cessation of danger to the in- 
habitants on the banks, but not before some cities had been 

' The sites of these places are unknown. 

2 Mauro-potamos. ^ Lake of Livadhia. * Kmtt}], an oar. 

' That is, by natural or artificial subterraneous channels. 



B. IX. c. II. § 19. BCEOTIA. 101 

already swallowed up. When the outlets were again ob- 
structed, Crates the Miner, a man of Chalcis, began to clear 
away the obstructions, but desisted in consequence of the Boeo- 
tians being in a state of insurrection ; although, as he himself 
says, in the letter to Alexander, many places had been already 
drained ; among these, some writers supposed was the site of 
the ancient Orchomenus ; others, that of Eleusis, and of 
Athens on the Triton. These cities are said to have been 
founded by Cecrops, when he ruled over Boeotia, then called 
Ogygia, but that they were afterwards destroyed by inunda- 
tions. It is said, that there was a fissure in the earth near 
Orchomenus, that admitted the river Melas,^ which flows 
through the territory of Haliartus, and forms there a marsh, 
where the reed grows of which the musical pipe is made.^ 
But this river has entirely disappeared, being carried off by 
the subterraneous channels of the chasm, or absorbed by the 
lakes and marshes about Haliartus ; whence the poet calls 
Haliartus grassy, 

" And the grassy Haliartus."' 
19. These rivers descend from the Phocian mountains, and 
among them the Cephissus,'* having its source at Lilaea, a 
Phocian city, as Homer describes it ; 

*' And they who occupied Lilaea, at the sources of Cephissus."* 

It flows through Elateia,^ the largest of the cities among the 
Phocians, through the Parapotamii, and the Phanoteis, which 
are also Phocian towns ; it then goes onwards to Chgeroneia 
in Boeotia; afterwards, it traverses the districts of Orcho- 
menus and Coroneia, and discharges its waters into the lake 
Copais. The Permessus and the Olmeius''^ descend from Heli- 
con, and uniting their streams, fall into the lake Copais 
near Haliartus. The waters of other streams likewise dis- 
charge themselves into it. It is a large lake with a cir- 
cuit of 380 stadia ;^ the outlets are nowhere visible, if we 

' Mauroneri. 2 pjiny, b. xvi. c. 36, ^ n ^ 503. 

* There were several rivers of this name. See below, c. iii. § 16. 

* II. ii. 523. 

^ See below, ch. iii. § 15. Elatei^ is represented by the modem village 
of Elefta. 

' See ch. ii. § 26. , 

' It is impossible to make any exact statement respecting its extent, 
since it varied so much at different times of the year and in different sea- 



102 STRABO. Casaub. 407. 

except the chasm which receives the Cephissus, and the 
marshes. 

20. Among the neighbouring lakes are Trephea ^ and Ce- 
phissis. Homer mentions it ; 

" Who dwelt in Hyla, intent upon amassing wealth, close to the lake Ce- 
phissis ; " ' 

for he did not mean to specify the lake Copais, as some sup- 
pose, but that called Hylicus,^ from the neighbouring village, 
which is called Hylae : nor did he mean Hyda, as some write 
the passage, 

" He lived in Hyda," 

for there is a place of this name in Lydia, 

" at the foot of the snowy Tmolus, in the fruitful country of Hyda ; " * 

and another in Boeotia ; he therefore adds to 

" behind the lake Cephissis," 
these words, 

" near dwelt other Boeotians." 

For the Copais is of great extent, and not situated in the 
Theban district, but the other is small, and filled from the 
former by subterraneous channels ; it is situated between 
Thebes^ and Anthedon. Homer however makes use of the 
word in the singular number, sometimes making the first 
syllable long by poetical licence, as in the Catalogue, r}2' "YXrjv 
Kal IleTEiopa,^ and sometimes shortening it, as in this instance ; 
"Oe jo' er ^YXy vaieaKe ; and again, Tychius HiKworofKor o\ 
api(TT(fQ"Y\]] euL olda valiovJ Nor do some persons correctly 
write in this passage, "'Y^rj eVt, 

" In Hyda," 
for Ajax was not to send for his shield from Lydia. 

21. ^The lakes themselves would indicate the order in 

sons. On the northern and eastern sides its extent is limited by a range 
of heights, but on- the opposite quarter there is no such natural boundary 
to its size. Smith, v. Boeotia, which contains also a useful map from 
Forschamer's Hellenica of the Basin of the Copais. 

' There appears to be no modern lake in the position assigned to Tre- 
phea by Kiepert. Kramer suggests the omission here of the word Tre- 
phea. 

2 II. V. 708. 3 Makaris. * II. xx. 385. * Thiva. 

« II. ii. 500. ^ II. vii. 221. 

* The text is in a very imperfect state. The section is translated as 
proposed to be emended by Kramer. 



B. IX. c. II. § 22-2 i. BCEOTIA. 103 

which the places stand, and thence it would be easy to perceive 
that the poet, when naming them, whether they were places of 
importance or otherwise, has observed no order. Indeed it 
would be difficult in the enumeration of so many places, obscure 
for the most part, and situated in the interior, to preserve a 
regular order. The sea-coast affords more convenient means 
oT doing this ; the places there are better known, and the sea 
affords greater facilities for marking their position. We shall 
therefore endeavour to take our point of departure from the 
sea-coast, and without further discussion, shall follow the poet 
in his enumeration of places ; at the same time, taking from 
other sources whatever may prove useful to us, but which 
has been omitted by him. He begins from Hyria and Aulis, 
of which we have already spoken. 

22. Schoenus ^ is a district of the Theban territory on the 
road to Anthedon, distant from Thebes about 50 stadia. A 
river of the name of Schoenus flows through it. 

23. Scolus^ is a village belonging to the district of Paraso- 
pia situated at the foot of Cithaeron ; it is a rugged place, and 
scarcely habitable, hence the proverbial saying, 

" Neither go yourself, nor follow any one going to Scolus." 

It is said that Pentheus was brought from thence, and torn in 
pieces. There was among the cities near Olynthus another of 
the name of Scolus. We have said that in the Heracleian 
Trachinia there was a village of the name of Parasopii, beside 
which runs a river Asopus, and that there is another river 
Asopus in Sicyonia, and that the country through which it 
flows is called Asopia. There are however other rivers of 
the same name. 

24. The name of Eteonus was changed to that of Scar- 
phe, which belongs to Parasopia. [Parasopia belongs to the 
Thebais,] for the Asopus and the Ismenus flow through the 
plain in front of Thebes. There is the fountain Dirce, and 
also Potniae, where is laid the fable of Glaucus of PotnisD, 
who was torn in pieces near the city by Potnian mares. The 
Cithaeron 3 terminates not far from Thebes. The Asopus 
flows by it, and washes the foot of the mountain, and occa- 
sions the Parasopii to be distributed among several settle- 
ments, but all of these bodies of people are subject to the 

' Morikios. * Kalyvi. » Mount Elatea. 



^^^ STRABO. Casaub. 409. 

Thebans. (Other writers say, that Scolus, Eteonus, and 
Erythrae, are in the district of Platsese, for the Asopus flows 
past Platsese, and discharges its waters into the sea near Tana- 
gra.) In the Theban territory are Therapnse and Teumessus, 
which Antimachus has extolled in a long poem, enumerat- 
ing excellencies which it had not ; 

" There is a small hill exposed to the winds," &c. : 
but the lines are well known. 

25. He calls the present place Thespiae ^ by the name of 
Thespia, for there are many names, of which some are used 
both in the singular and in the plural number, in the 
masculine and in the feminine gender, and some in either one 
or the other only. It is a city close to Helicon, lying more 
to the south. The city itself and Helicon are situated on the 
Crisaean Gulf. Thespias has an arsenal Creusa, or, as it is 
also named, Creusia. In the Thespian territory, in the part 
lying towards Helicon, is Ascra,^ the birth-place of Hesiod. 
It is on the right of Helicon, situated upon a lofty and rocky 
spot, at the distance of about 40 stadia from Thespia. Hesiod 
has satirized it in verses addressed to his father, for formerly 
emigrating (to this place) from Cume in ^tolia, as follows : 

" He dwelt near Helicon in a wretched village, Ascra ; bad in winter, in 
summer intolerable, and worthless at any season." ' 

Helicon is contiguous to Phocis on its northern, and partly 
on its western side, as far as the last harbour of Phocis, which 
is called from its characteristic situation, Mychus, or the 
Recess. 

' There is some doubt respecting the modern name of Thespiae ; the 
Austrian map places the ruins near Erimokastro. 

2 Placing Ascra at Pyrgaki, there is little doubt that Aganippe, whence 
the Muses were called Aganippides, is the fountain which issues from the 
left bank of the torrent flowing midway between Paleopanaghea and 
Pyrgaki. Around this fountain Leake observed numerous square blocks, 
and in the neighbouring fields stones and remains of habitations. The 
position of the Grove of the Muses is fixed at St. Nicholas, by an inscrip- 
tion which Leake discovered there relating to the Museia, or the games 
of the Muses, which were celebrated there under the presidency of the 
Thespians. Paus. b. ix. c. 31. In the time of Pausanias the Grove of 
the Muses contained a larger number of statues than any other place in 
Bceotia, and this writer has given an account of many of them. The 
statues of the Muses were removed by Constantino from this place to his 
new capital, where they were destroyed by fire, in a. d. 404. Smith. 

3 Works and Days, 639. 



B. IX. c. II. § 25. BCEOTIA. 105 

Just above this part of the Crisaean Gulf, Helicon, As- 
cra, Thespige, and its arsenal Creusa, are situated. This is 
considered as the part of the Crissean and of the Corinthian 
Gulf which recedes most inland. The coast extends 90 stadia 
from the recess of the harbour to Creusa, and thence 120 as 
far as the promontory called Holmiae. In the most retired 
part of the Crisaean Gulf, Pagae and CEnoa, which I have 
already mentioned, are situated. 

Helicon, not far distant from Parnassus, rivals it in height * 
and circumference. Both mountains are covered with snow, 
and are rocky. They do not occupy a circuit of ground of great 
extent. There are, the fane of the Muses, the Horse-fountain 
Hippocrene,^ and the grottoes of the nymphs, the Leibethrides. 
Hence it might be conjectured, that Helicon w^as consecrated 
to the Muses, by Thracians, who dedicated also Pieris, the 
Leibethrum, and Pimpleia to the same goddesses. The 
Thracians were called Pieres, and since their expulsion, the 
Macedonians possess these places. 

It has been remarked, that the Thracians, (having expelled 
the Boeotians by force,) and the Pelasgi, and other barbarous 
people, settled in this part of Boeotia. 

Thespiae was formerly celebrated for a statue of Cupid by 
Praxiteles. Glycera the courtesan, a native of Thespiae, re- 
ceived it as a present from the artist, and dedicated it as a 
public offering to her fellow-citizens. 

Persons formerly used to repair thither to see the Cupid, 
w^here there was nothing else worth seeing. This city, and 
Tanagra, alone of the Boeotian cities exist at present, while of 
others there remain nothing but ruins and names. 

' This is a mistake, since the loftiest summit of Helicon is barely 5000 
feet high, whilst that of Parnassus is upwards of 8000 feet. Smith. He- 
licon is a range of mountains with several summits, of which the loftiest 
is a round mountain now called Paleovuni. Smith. The Austrian map 
gives the modern name Zagora to Helicon. 

2 Twenty stadia from the Grove of the Muses was the fountain Hip- 
pocrene, which was said to have been produced by the horse Pegasus 
striking the ground with his foot. Pans. b. ix. ch. 31. Hippocrene was 
probably at Makariotissa, which is noted for a fine spring of water. Smith. 
The Austrian map places it at Kukuva. Leibethrum, or Leibethreium, 
is described by Pausanias as . distant 40 stadia from Coroneia, and is 
therefore probably the mount Zagora. Smith. 



^^^ STRABO. Casaub. 410. 

26. After ThespiaB the poet enumerates Graia and Myca- 
lessus, of which we have before spoken. 

He proceeds as before, 

" They who lived near Harma, Eilesium, and Erythrs, 
And they who occupied Eleon, Hyle, and Peteon." * 

Peteon is a village of the Thebais near the road to Anthedon. 
Ocalea is midway between Haliartus,^ and AlalcomenEe,^ it is 
distant from each 30 stadia. A small river of the same name 
flows by it. Medeon, belonging to Phocis, is on the Crissean 
Gulf, distant from Boeotia 160 stadia. The Medeon of Eoeo- 
tia has its name from that in Phocis. It is near Onchestus, 
under the mountain Phoeniciura/ whence it has the appella- 
tion of Phoenicis. This mountain is likewise assigned to the 
Theban district, but by others to the territories of Haliartus, 
as also Medeon and Ocalea. 

27. Homer afterwards names, 

" Copse, and Eutresis, and Thisbe, abounding with doves.'" 

» II. ii. 499. 

' The remains of Haliartus are situated upon a hill about a mile from 
the village of Mazi, on the road from Thebes to Lebadeia, and at the dis- 
tance of about 15 miles from either place. Although the walls of the 
town are scarcely anywhere traceable, its extent is marked on the east 
and west by two small rivers, of which that to the west issues from the 
foot of the hill of Mazi, the eastern, called the Kafalari, has its origin in 
Mount Helicon. The stream on the western side of the city is the one 
called Hoplites by Plutarch, where Lysander fell in battle with the The- 
bans, B. c. 395, and is apparently the same as the Lophis of Pausanias. 
The stream on the eastern side, the Kafalari, is formed by the union of 
two rivulets, which appear to be the Permessus and Olmeius, which are 
described by Strabo as flowing from Helicon, and after their union enter- 
ing the Lake Copais, near Haliartus. Smith. 

' It was celebrated for the worship of Athena, who is hence called 
Alalcomeneis in Homer. The temple of the goddess stood at a little dis- 
tance from the town, on the Triton, a small stream flowing into the Lake 
Copais. The modern village Sulinari is the site of Alalcomense. Smith. 

* Phcenicium, or Sphingium, now called Faga, the mountain between 
the Lakes Copais and Hylica, connecting Mount Ptoum with the range of 
Helicon. Forchamer supposes that Phoenicium and Sphingium are the 
names of two diff"erent mountains, separated from one another by the small 
plain of the stream Daulos ; but the name of Phcenicium rests only on the 
authority of Strabo, and it is probably a corruption of Phicium. $i? is 
the ^olic form of '2<p'Ly%, (Hes. Theog. 326,) and therefore there can be 
no doubt that Phicium and Sphingium are two different forms of the same 
name. Sjnith. ^ II. ii. 502. 



B. IX. c. II. § 28, 29. . BCEOTIA. 107 

We have spoken of Copse. It lies towards the north on the 
lake Copais. The other cities around are, Acraephiae, Phoe- 
nicis, Onchestus, Haliartus, Ocalea, Alalcomense, Tilphusium, 
Coroneia. Formerly, the lake had no one general name, but 
derived its appellation from every settlement on its banks, as 
Copais from Cop£e,VHaliartis from Haliartus, and other names 
from other places, but latterly the whole has been called 
Copais, for the lake is remarkable for forming at Copae the 
deepest hollow. Pindar calls it Cephissis, and places near it, 
not far from Haliartus and Alalcomenae, the fountain Til- 
phossa, which flows at the foot of Mount Tilphossius. At the 
fountain is the monument of Teiresias, and in the same place 
the temple of the Tilphossian Apollo. 

28. After Copae, the poet mentions Eutresis, a small village 
of the Thespians.^ Here Zethus and Amphion lived before 
they became kings of Thebes. 

Thisbe is now called Thisbas. The place is situated a little 
above the sea-coast on the confines of the Thespienses, and 
the territory of Coroneia ; on the south it lies at the foot of 
Cithaeron. It has an arsenal in a rocky situation abounding 
with doves, whence the poet terms it 

" Thisbe, with its flights of doves.*' 
Thence to Sicyon is a voyage of 160 stadia. 

29. He next recites the names of Coroneia, Haliartus, Pla- 
taeae, and Glissas. 

Coroneia^ is situated upon an eminence, near Helicon. The 
Boeotians took possession of it on their return from the Thes- 
salian Arne, after the Trojan war, when they also occupied 
Orchomenus. Having become masters of Coroneia, they built 
in the plain before the city the temple of the Itonian Minerva, 
of the same name as that in Thessaly, and called the river 

* It was still in existence in the time of Pausanias ; the modern village 
Topolia occupies the site. 

2 Leake conjectures that there is an error in the text, and that for 
Oeairiujv we ought to read Qiafiuiv, since there is only one spot in the ten 
miles betAveen Plataea and Thespiae where any town is likely to have 
stood, and that was occupied by Leuctra. See Smith. 

^ It was here that the Athenians under Tolmides were defeated by the 
Boeotians in b. c. 447 ; in consequence of which defeat the Athenians lost 
the sovereignly which they had for some years exercised over Bceotia. 
The plain of Coroneia was also the scene of the victory gained by Agesi- 
laus over the Thebans and their allies in b. c. 394. 



108 • STRABO. Casaub. 411. 

flowing by it, Cuarius, the name of the Thessalian river. 
Alcagus, however, calls it Coralius in these words, 

" Minerva, warrior queen, who o'er Coroneia keepest watch before thy 
temple, on the banks of Coralius." 

The festival Pamboeotia was here celebrated. Hades is asso- 
ciated with Minerva, in the dedication of the temple, for some 
mystical reason. The inhabitants of the Boeotian Coroneia 
are called Coronii, those of the Messenian Coroneia, Coronenses. 

30. Haliartus * is no longer in existence, it was razed in the 
war against Perseus. The territory is occupied by the Athe- 
nians, to whom it was given by the Romans. It was situated 
in a narrow spot between an overhanging mountain and the 
lake Copais, near the Permessus, the Olmeius, and the marsh 
that produces the flute-reed. 

31. Plataeae, which the poet uses in the singular number, 
lies at the foot of Cithaeron, between this mountain and Thebes, 
on the road to Athens and Megara ; it is on the borders of 
Attica and Bosotia, for Eleutherae is near, which some say be- 
longs to Attica, others to Boeotia. We have said that the 
Asopus flows beside Plataeae. There the army of the- Greeks 
entirely destroyed Mardonius and three hundred thousand 
Persians. They dedicated there a temple to Jupiter Eleu- 
therius, and instituted gymnastic games, called Eleutheria, in 
which the victor was crowned. The tombs erected at the 
public expense, in honour of those who died in the battle, are 
to be seen there. In the Sicyonian district is a demus called 
Plataeae, where the poet Mnasalces was born : 

" the monument of Mnasalces of Plataeae." 
Glissas,^ Homer says, is a village on Mount Hypatus, which 
is near Teumessus and Cadmeia, in the Theban territory. 
******* beneath is what is called the Aonian plain, 
which extends from Mount Hypatus [to Cadmeia ?].^ 

* Pausanias, b. ix. 33, mentions the Heroum of Lysander in Hali- 
artus, and some ruined temples, which had been burnt by the Persians, 
and had been purposely left in that state. Smith. 

^ Leake identifies Glisas with the ruins on the bank of the torrent 
Platanaki, above which rises the mountain Siamata, the ancient Hypatus. 
' The following is the original of this corrupt passage. Kramer suggests 
that the words y. 5. have been introduced from the margin into the text. 
ytoj\o<l>a KoXeiTai dpi\_* * * (^ i/7ro7r]t7rrat to 
'Aoviov Kokoufjievov Tttdiov o diaruvH * * 
* * * * CLTTO rov 'YTrdrou bpovQ. 



B. IX. c. II. § 32—34. B(EOTIA. 109 

32. By these words of the poet, 

" those who occupied under Thebes," * 
some understand a small town, called Under-Thebes, others 
Potniae, for Thebes was abandoned after the expedition of the 
Epigoni, and took no part in the Trojan war. Others say 
that they did take part in it, but that they Hved at that time 
under Cadmeia, in the plain country, after the incursion of the 
Epigoni, being unable to rebuild the Cadmeia. As Thebes 
was called Cadmeia, the poet says that the Thebans of that 
time lived "under Thebes" instead of "under Cadmeia." 

33. The Amphictyonic council usually assembled at On- 
chestus, in the territory of Haliartus, near the lake Copais, 
and the Teneric plain. It is situated on a height, devoid of 
trees, where is a temple of Neptune also without trees. For 
the poets, for the sake of ornament, called all sacred places 
groves, although they were without trees. Such is the lan- 
guage of Pindar, when speaking of Apollo : 

"He traversed in his onward way the earth and sea ; he stood upon the 
heights of the lofty mountains ; he shook the caves in their deep recesses, 
and overthrew the foundations of the sacred groves" or temples. 

As Alcasus is mistaken in the altering the name of the river 
Cuarius, so he makes a great error in placing Onchestus at 
the extremities of Helicon, whereas it is situated very far from 
this mountain. 

34. The Teneric plain has its name from Tenerus. Ac- 
cording to mythology, he was the son of Apollo and Melia, 
and declared the answers of the oracle at the mountain Ptoum,^ 
which, the same poet says, had three peaks : 

" At one time he occupied the caves of tlie three-headed Ptoum ; " 

and he calls Tenerus 

" the prophet, dwelling in the temple, and having the same name as the 
soil on which it stands." 

The Ptoum is situated above the Teneric plain, and the lake 
Copa'is, near Acraephium. 

Pausanias, b. ix. ch. 19, makes mention of a tumulus covered with 
trees, near the ruins of Glisas or Glissas, which was the burial-place of 
^gialus and his companions, and also of other tumuli. These were pro- 
bably the yfwXo^a dpia, woody hillocks. The obscurity, however, still 
remains. 

* II. ii. 505. 

' The three summits of Ptoum bear the names of Palea, Stranitza, and 
Skroponeri. 



110 STRABO. Casaub. 413. 

Both the oracle and the mountain belonged to the Thebans. 

Acraephium ^ itself is situated upon a height. This, it is 
said, is the place called Arne bj the poet, having the same 
name as the Thessalian Arne. 

35. Some say that Arne ;ind Mideia were swallowed up by 
the lake. Zenodotus, however, when he writes the verse thus, 

" they who occupied Ascra abounding with vines," ^ 

does not seem to have read Hesiod's description of his native 
country, and what has been said by Eudoxus, who relates 
things much more to the disparagement of Ascra. For how 
could any one believe that such a place could have been de- 
scribed by the poet as 

" abounding with vines ? " 

Neither are those persons in the right, who substitute in this 
passage Tarne for Arne, for there is not a place of the name 
of Tarne to be found in Boeotia, although there is in Lydia. 
Homer mentions it, 

" Idomeneus then slew Phaestus, the son of Borus, the artificer, who came 
from the fruitful soil of Tarne." ' 

Besides Alalcomenae and Tilphossium, which are near the 
lake, Choeroneia, Lebadia, and Leuctra, are worthy of notice. 

36. The poet mentions Alalcomenae,'* but not in the Cata- 
logue ; 

"the Argive Juno and Minerva of Alalcomenae."* 

It has an ancient temple of Minerva, which is held in great 
veneration. It is said that this was the place of her birth, as 
Argos was that of Juno, and that Homer gave to both these 
goddesses designations derived from their native places. Per- 
haps for this reason he has not mentioned, in the Catalogue, 
the inhabitants ; for having a sacred character, they were ex- 
empted from military service. Indeed the city has never suf- 
fered devastation by an enemy, although it is inconsiderable 
in size, and its position is weak, for it is situated in a plain. 

* The ruins are situated at a short distance south of Kardhitza. The 
site of Cierium, the modern village Mataranga, was first discovered by 
Leake, who identifies it with Arne, and supposes, with much probability, 
that the name Arne may have been disused by the Thessalian conquerors, 
because it was of Boeotian origin, and that the new appellation may have 
been taken from the neighbouring river Curalius or Cuarius. 

2 11. ii. 507. 3 11, V. 43. ♦ Sulinari. « II. iv. 8. 



B IX. c. 11. § 37—40. BCEOTIA. 1 1 1 

All in reverence to the goddess abstained from every act of 
violence ; wherefore the Thebans, at the time of the expedi- 
tion of the Epigoni, abandoning their own city, are said to 
have taken refuge here, and on the strong mountain above it, 
the Tilphossium.^ Below Tilphossium is the fountain Til- 
phossa, and the monument of Teiresias, who died there on 
the retreat. 

37. Chseroneia^ is near Orchomenus,^ where Philip, the son 
of Amyntas, after having overcome, in a great battle,^ the 
Athenians, Boeotians, and Corinthians, became the master of 
Greece. There are seen the sepulchres erected at the public 
charge of the persons who fell in that battle. 

38. At Lebadeia^ is the oracle of Jupiter Trophonius, 
having a descent through an opening, which leads under- 
ground. The person himself, who consults the oracle, de- 
scends into it. It is situated between Helicon and Chaeroneia, 
near Coroneia. 

39. Leuctra^ is the place where Epaminondas overcame the 
Lacedaemonians in a great battle, and first weakened their 
power ; for after that time they were never able to regain the 
supremacy over the Greeks, which they before possessed, 
and particularly after they were defeated in a second battle at 
Mantinea. Even after these reverses they preserved their 
independence until the establishment of the Roman dominion, 
and were always respected by that people on account of the 
excellency of their form of government. The field of battle 
is shown on the road which leads from Platseae to Thespiae. 

40. The poet next mentions the Orchomenians in the Cata- 
logue, and distinguishes them from the Boeotian nation. He 
gives to Orchomenus the epithet Minyeian from the nation of 
the Minyae. They say that a colony of the Minyeians went 
hence to lolcus,"^ and from this circumstance the Argonauts 
were called Minyae. It appears that, anciently, it was a rich 

* Petra. ' Kapurna. ^ Scripu. 

* On the 7th of August, b. c. 338. Of the details of this battle we have 
no account. The site of the monument is marked by a tumulus about a 
mile or a little more from the Khan of Kapurna, on the right side of the 
road towards Orchomenus. A few years ago (according to Mure) the 
mound of earth was excavated and a colossal lion discovered, deeply im- 
bedded in its interior. See Smith. 

* Livadhia. « LePKa. 
' See below, ch.. v. § 15. 



112 STRABO. Casaub. 414. 

and very powerful city. Homer bears witness to its wealth, 
for in his enumeration of places of great opulence, he says, 

" Not all that is brought to Orchomenus, or to Egyptian Thebes." * 
Of its power there is this proof, that the Thebans always paid 
tribute to the Orchomenians, and to Erginus their king, who it 
is said was put to death by Hercules. Eteocles, one of the 
kings that reigned at Orchomenus, first displayed both wealth 
and power. He built a temple dedicated to the Graces, who 
were thus honoured by him, either because he had been for- 
tunate in receiving or conferring favours, or perhaps for both 
these reasons. 

[For one who was inclined thus to honour these god- 
desses, must have been naturally disposed to be a benefactor, 
and he must have possessed the power. But for this purpose 
wealth is required. For he who has not much cannot give 
much, nor can he who does not receive much possess much ; 
but when giving and receiving unite, then there is a just ex- 
change. For a vessel which is simultaneously emptied and 
filled is always full ; but he who gives and does not receive 
cannot succeed in either giving or receiving, for the giver 
must desist from giving from failure of means. Givers also 
will desist from giving to him who receives only, and confers 
no benefits, so that he must fail in receiving. The same may 
be said of power. For independently of the common saying, 

" That money is the thing most highly valued, 
And has the greatest influence in human affairs,"' 

we may examine the subject more in detail. We say, for ex- 
ample, that kings have the greatest power, (/uaXtora IvvacQai,) 
whence the name, dynasty. Their power is exerted by lead- 
ing the multitude whither they like, by persuasion or by force. 
Their power of persuasion chiefly rests in doing acts of kind- 
ness ; for persuasion by words is not princely, but belongs to 
the orator. By princely persuasion, I mean, when kings di- 
rect and lead men whither .they please by acts of kindness. 
They persuade by acts of kindness, but compel by means of 
arms. Both power and possessions may be purchased by 
money. For he has the largest body of forces, who is able to 
maintain the largest ; and he who has the largest possessions, 
can confer the greatest benefits.^] 

* II. Ix. 381. * Euripides, Phoen. 422. ^ probably an interpolation. 



B. IX. c. II. Hl> 42. PHOCIS. 113 

The spot which the present lake Copais occupies, was form- 
erly, it is said, dry ground, and was cultivated in various 
ways by the Orchomenians, who lived near it ; and this is al- 
leged as a proof of wealth. 

41. Some persons use the word Aspledon^ without the first 
syllable, Spledon. The name both of the city and of the ter- 
ritory was changed to Eudeielos,^ which expressed perhaps 
some peculiar advantage the inhabitants derived from their 
western position, and especially the mild winters. The ex- 
treme parts of the day are the coldest. Of these the evening 
is colder than the morning, for as night approaches the cold is 
more intense, and as night retires the cold abates. The 
severity of the cold is mitigated by the heat of the sun, and 
the part which during the coldest season has received most of 
the sun's heat, is mildest in winter. 

It is distant from Orchomenus^ 20 stadia. The river 
Melas is between them. 

42. Panopeus, a Phocian city, and Hyampolis'* are situated 
above Orchomenus. Opus, the metropolis of the Locri Epic- 
nemidii, borders upon these places. It is said, that Orcho- 
menus was formerly situated on a plain, but, as the waters 
overflowed, the settlers removed to the mountain Acontium, 
which extends 60 stadia in length, as far as Parapotamii in 
Phocis. It is said, that those people, who are called Achaei in 
Pontus, are colonists from the Orchomenians, who, after the 
capture of Troy, wandered thither under the conduct of lal- 
menus. There was also an Orchomenus near Carystus. 

The writers on the Catalogue of Ships [in Homer], have 
furnished us with these materials, and they have been fol- 
lowed, wherever they introduced anything adapted to the 
design of this work. 



> 



CHAPTER III. 



1. Next to Boeotia and Orchomenus is Phocis, lying along 
the side of Boeotia to the north, and, anciently, nearly from sea 

* Leake places it at Tzamali, but Forchammer with more probability 
at Avro-Kastro. 

^ EvSiieXog. ' Scripu. * Bof}:cl;ina, 

VOL. II. I 



114 STRABO. Casaub. 416. 

to sea. For at that time Daphnus belonged to Phocis, dividing 
Locris into two parts, and situated midway between the Opun- 
tian Gulf and the sea-coast of the Epicnemidii. At present, 
however, the district belongs to the Locri ; but the town is in 
ruins, so that Phocis no longer extends to the sea opposite Eu- 
boea ; but it is close to the Crissean Gulf. For Crisa itself be- 
longs to Phocis, and is situated immediately upon the sea. 
Cirrha, Anticyra,^ and the places above them, in the interior 
near Parnassus in continuous succession, namely, Delphi,^ 
Cirphis, and Daulis,^ belong to Phocis, so also Parnassus it- 
self, which is the boundary of the western side. 

In the same manner as Phocis lies along the side of Boeotia, 
so are both the divisions of Locris situated with respect to 
Phocis, for Locris is composed of two parts, being divided by 
Parnassus. The western part lies along the side of Parnassus, 
occupies a portion of it, and extends to the Crisaean Gulf ; the 
eastern part terminates at the sea near Euboea. The inhabit- 
ants of the former are called Locri Hesperii, or Locri Ozolse, and 
have engraven on their public seal the star Hesperus. The rest 
are again divided into two bodies : one, the Opuntii, who have 
their name from the chief city, and border upon the Phocae- 
ans and Boeotians ; the other, the Epicnemidii, who have their 
name from the mountain Cnemis ;'* and adjoin the QEtcei, 
and the Malienses. In the midst of the Hesperii, and the 
other Locri, is Parnassus, lying lengthwise towards the north- 
ern part, and extending from the neighbourhood of Delphi to 
the junction of the (Etaean, and the JEtolian mountains, and 
to the Dorians, who are situated between them. For as both 
divisions of Locris extend along the side of Phocis, so also the 
region of (Eta with JEtolia, and some of the places situated in 
the Doric Tetrapolis, extend along the sides of the two Locri, 
Parnassus and the Dorians. Immediately above these are 
situated the Thessalians, the northern ^tolians, the Acarna- 
nians, and some of the Epirotic and Macedonian nations, as I 
observed before, the above-mentioned tracts of country may 
be considered as a kind of parallel bands stretching from the 
v/est to the east. 

The whole of Parnassus is esteemed sacred, it contains 
caves, and other places, which are regarded with honour and 

' Aspra-Spitia. ^ Kastri. ^ Daulia. 

* It is a continuation of the ridge of CEta. 



B. IX. c. III. $ 2. PHOCIS. 115 

reverence. Of these the most celebrated and the most beau- 
tiful is Corycium, a cave of the nymphs, having the same 
name as that in Cilicia. Of the sides of Parnassus, the west- 
ern is occupied by the Locri Ozolag, and by some of the Dori- 
ans, and by the ^toli, situated near Corax, an ^tolian 
mountain. The eastern side is occupied by Phocians and by 
the greater part of the Dorians, who hold the Tetrapolis, situ- 
ated as it were round the side of Parnassus, but spreading out 
in the largest extent towards the east. The sides of the 
above-mentioned tracts and each of the bands are parallel, one 
side being northern, and the other southern. The western 
sides, however, are not parallel to the eastern, for the sea-coast 
from the Crissean Gulf to Actium ^ is not parallel to the coast 
opposite Euboea, and extending to Thessalonica. It is on 
these shores the above-mentioned nations terminate. For the 
figure of these countries is to be understood from the notion of 
lines drawn parallel to the base of a triangle, where the separ- 
ate parts lie parallel to one another, and have their sides in 
latitude parallel, but not their sides in longitude. This is a 
rough sketch of the country which remains to be examined. 
We shall examine each separate part in order, beginning with 
Phocis. 

2. The two most celebrated cities of this country are Del- 
phi and Elateia. Delphi is renowned for the temple of the 
Pythian Apollo, and the antiquity of its oracle ; since Aga- 
memnon is said by the poet to have consulted it ; for the min- 
strel is introduced singing of the 

" fierce contest of Ulysses, and Achilles, the son of Peleus, how once they 
contended together, and Agamemnon king of men was pleased, for so 
Phoebus Apollo had foretold by the oracle in the illustrious Pytho." ^ 

Delphi then was celebrated on this account. Elateia was 
famous as being the largest of the cities in that quarter, and 
for its very convenient position upon the straits ; for he, who 
is the master of this city, commands the entrances into Phocis 
and Boeotia. First, there are the QEtaean mountains, next the 
mountains of the Locri, and the Phocians ; they are not every 
where passable for invading armies, coming from Thessaly, 
but having narrow passes distinct from each other, which the 
adjacent cities guard. Those, who take the cities, are masters 

» La Punta. ^ Qd. -viii. 75. 



116 STRABO. Casaub. 418. 

of the passes also. But since from its celebrity the temple at 
Delphi possesses a pre-eminence, this, together with the posi- 
tion of the places, (for thej are the most westerly parts of 
Phocis,) suggest a natural commencement of our description, 
and we shall begin from thence. 

3. We have remarked, that Parnassus itself is situated on 
the western boundaries of Phocis. The western side of this 
mountain is occupied by the Locri Ozolae ; on the southern is 
Delphi, a rocky spot, resembling in shape a theatre ; on its 
summit is the oracle, and also the city, which comprehends a 
circle of 16 stadia. Above it lies Lycoreia; here the Del- 
phians were formerly settled above the temple. At present 
they live close to it around the Castalian fountain. In front 
of the city, on the southern part, is Cirphis, a precipitous hill, 
leaving in the intermediate space a wooded ravine, through 
which the river Pleistus flows. Below Cirphis near the sea 
is Cirrha, an ancient city, from which there is an ascent to 
Delphi of about 80 stadia. It is situated opposite to Sicyon. 
Adjoining to Cirrha is the fertile Crisaean plain. Again, 
next in order follows another city Crisa, from which the 
Crisaean Gulf has its name ; then Anticyra,^ of the same name 
as the city, on the Maliac Gulf, and near CEta. The best 
hellebore is said to grow in the Maliac Anticyra,^ but l>ere 
it is prepared in a better manner ; on this account many 
persons resort hither for the purpose of experiencing its 
purgative qualities, and of being cured of their maladies. In 
the Phocian territory there is found a medicinal plant, resem- 
bling Sesamum, (Sesamoides,) with which the (Etasan helle- 
bore is prepared. 

4. Anticyra still remains, but Cirrha and Crisa ^ are in 
ruins ; Cirrha was destroyed by the Crisaeans ; and Crisa, 
afterwards, by Eurylochus the Thessalians, in the Crisasan 
war ; for the Crisaei enriched themselves by duties levied on 
merchandise brought from Sicily and Italy, and laid grievous 
imposts on those who resorted to the temple, contrary to the 
decrees of the Amphictyons. The same was the case with the 
Amphissenses, who belong to the Locri Ozolae. This people 
made an irruption into the country, and took possession of 
Crisa, and restored it. The plain, which had been consecrated 

1 Aspra Spitia. ^ At the mouth of the Spercheius. 

' The ruins are near Chryso. 



B. IX. c. III. § 5, 6. PHOCIS. 117 

by the Ampliictyons, was diligently cultivated, but strangers 
were more harshly treated than by the Crisasans before them. 
The Amphictyons punished them and restored the territory to 
the god. The temple at Delphi is now much neglected, although 
formerly it was held in the greatest veneration. Proofs of the 
respect which was paid to it are, the treasuries constructed at 
the expense of communities and princes, where was deposited 
the wealth dedicated to sacred uses, the works of the most 
eminent artists, the Pythian games, and a multitude of cele- 
brated oracles. 

5. The place where the oracle is delivered, is said to be a 
deep hollow cavern, the entrance to which is not very wide. 
From it rises up an exhalation which inspires a divine frenzy : 
over the mouth is placed a lofty tripod on which the Pythian 
priestess ascends to receive the exhalation, after which she 
gives the prophetic response in verse or prose. The prose is 
adapted to measure by poets who are in the service of the 
temple. Phemonoe is said to have been the first Pythian pro- 
phetess, and both the prophetess and the city obtained their 
appellation from the word Pythesthai, to inquire, {irvQiaQai). 
The first syllable was lengthened, as in the words aflavaroc, 

^ [The establishment of cities, and the honour paid to com- 
mon temples, are due to the same feelings and causes. Men were 
collected together into cities and nations, from a natural dis- 
position to society, and for the purpose of mutual assistance. 
Hence common temples were resorted to, festivals celebrated, 
and meetings held of the general body of the people. For 
friendship commences from and is promoted by attending the 
same feasts, uniting in the same worship, and dwelling under 
the same roof. The advantages derived from these meetings 
were naturally estimated from the number of persons who at- 
tended them, as also from the number of places from whence 
they came.] 

6. Although the highest honour was paid to this temple on 
account of the oracle, (for it was the most exempt of any from 
deception,) yet its reputation was owing in part to its situation 
in the centre of all Greece, both within and without the isth- 
mus. It was also supposed to be the centre of the habitable 

^ Apparently an interpolation. Groskurd, 



118 STRABO. Casaub. 420. 

earth, and was called the Navel of the earth. A fable, re- 
ferred to by Pindar, was invented, according to which two 
eagles, (or, as others say, two crows,) set free by Jupiter, one 
from the east, the other from the west, alighted together at 
Delphi. In the temple is seen a sort of navel wrapped in 
bands, and surmounted by figures representing the birds of 
the fable. 

7. As the situation of Delphi is convenient, persons easily 
assembled there, particularly those from the neighbourhood, of 
whom the Amphictyonic body is composed. It is the business 
of this body to deliberate on public affairs, and to it is more 
particularly intrusted the guardianship of the temple for the 
common good ; for large sums of money were deposited there, 
and votive offerings, which required great vigilance and 
religious care. The early history of this body is unknown, 
but among the names which are recorded, Acrisius appears to" 
have been the first who regulated its constitution, to have 
determined what cities were to have votes in the council, and 
to have assigned the number of votes and mode of voting. To 
some cities he gave a single vote each, or a vote to two cities, 
or to several cities conjointly. He also defined the class of 
questions which might arise between the different cities, 
which were to be submitted to the decision of the Amphicty- 
onic tribunal ; and subsequently many other regulations were 
made, but this body, like that of the Achaeans, was finally 
dissolved. 

At first twelve cities are said to have assembled, each of 
which sent a Pylagoras. The convention was held twice a 
year, in spring and autumn. But latterly a greater number 
of cities assembled. They called both the vernal and the 
autumnal convention Pylaean, because it was held at Pylae, 
which has the name also of Thermopylae. The Pylagorse 
sacrificed to Ceres. 

In the beginning, the persons in the neighbourhood only as- 
sembled, or consulted the oracle, but afterwards people re- 
paired thither from a distance for this purpose, sent gifts, and 
constructed treasuries, as Croesus, and his father Alyattes, 
some of the Italians also, and the Siceli (Sicilians). 

8. But the wealth, being an object of cupidity, was guarded 
with difficulty, although dedicated to sacred uses. At pre- 
^nt, however, whatever it might have been, the temple at 



B. IX. c. III. § 9. PHOCIS. 119 

Delphi is exceedingly poor. Some of the offerings have 
been taken away for the sake of the money, but the greater 
part remain there. It is true that the temple was once very 
opulent, as Homer testifies ; 

" Nor all the wealth, which the marble threshold of Phoebus Apollo, the 
Archer, (Aphetor,) • contains in the rocky Pytho." * 

The treasuries indicate its riches, and the plunder committed 
by the Phocians, which gave rise to the Phocic or Sacred 
war, as it was called. It is however supposed that a spolia- 
tion of the temple must have taken place at some more re- 
mote period, when the wealth mentioned by Homer disap- 
peared ; for no vestige of it whatever was preserved to later 
times, when Onomarchus and Phayllus pillaged the temple, as 
the property [then] removed was of a more recent date than 
that referred to by the poet. For there were once deposited 
in the treasuries, offerings from spoils, bearing inscriptions 
with the names of the donors, as of Gyges, of Croesus, of the 
SybaritaB, of the Spinetse on the Adriatic, and of others also. 
It would be unbecoming to suppose ^ that modern and ancient 
treasures were confounded together : other places pillaged by 
these people confirm this view. 

Some persons, however, understanding the word Aphetor 
to signify treasure, and the threshold of the aphetor the reposi- 
tory of the treasure under-ground, say, that this wealth was 
buried beneath the temple, and that Onomarchus and his 
companions attempted to dig it up by night ; violent shocks 
of an earthquake caused them to fly out of the temple, and 
desist from their excavation ; thus others were impressed 
with a dread of making similar attempts. 

9. Of the shrines, the winged shrine'' is to be placed among 
fabulous stories. The second is said to have been the work- 
manship of Trophonius and Agamedes, but the present 
shrine^ was buiit by the Amphictyons. A tomb of Neoptole- 
mus is shown in the sacred enclosure. It was built accordingr 



p 



* a(pT}T(i)p. 2 II. ix. 404. ' A conjecture by Kramer. 

* Pausanias, b. x. c. 5, speaks of a temple of Apollo at Delphi, which 
was supposed to have been constructed by bees, with their combs and 
wings. 

* Of which Spintharus the Corinthian was the architect. Pausanias, b. 
X. c. 5. 



120 STRABO. Casaub. 421. 

to the injunction of an oracle. Neoptolemus was killed by 
Machs&reus, a Delphian, when, as the table goes, he was seek- 
ing redress from the god for the murder of his father, but, 
probably, he was preparing to pillage the temple- Branchus, 
who presided over the temple at Didyma, is said to have been 
a descendant of Machasreus. 

10. There was anciently a contest held at Delphi, of players 
on the cithara, who executed a paean in honour of the god. It 
was instituted by Delphians. But after the Crisaean war the 
Amphictyons, in the time of Eurylochus, established contests 
for horses, and gymnastic sports, in which the victor was 
crowned. These were called Pythian games. The players^ 
on the cithara were accompanied by players on the flute, and 
by citharists,^ who performed without singing. They per^ 
formed a strain (Melos),^ called the Pythian mood (Nomos).* 
It consisted of five parts ; the anacrusis, the ampeira, catace- 
leusmus, iambics and dactyls, and pipes.^ Timosthenes, the com- 
mander of the fleet of the Second Ptolemy, and who was the 
author of a work in ten books on Harbours, composed a melos. 
His object was to celebrate in this melos the contest of Apollo 
with the serpent Python. The anacrusis was intended to ex- 
press the prelude ; the ampeira, the first onset of the contest ; 
the cataceleusmus, the contest itself; the iambics and dactyls 
.denoted the triumphal strain on obtaining the victory, together 
with musical measures, of which the dactyl is peculiarly ap* 
propriated to praise, and the use of the iambic to insult and 
reproach; the syringes or pipes described the death, the 
players imitating the hissings of the expiring monster.^ 

11. Ephorus, whom we generally follow, on account of his 
exactness in these matters, (as Polybius, a writer of repute, 
testifies,) seems to proceed contrary to his proposed plan, and 
to the promise which he made at the beginning of his work. 
For after having censured those writers who are fond of in- 
termixing fable with history, and after having spoken in 
praise of truth, he introduces, with reference to this oracle, a 
grave declaration, that he considers truth preferable at all 

' Ki6ap(fSoi, played on the cithara, accompanying it with words. 
2 Ki6api(7Tai, played on the cithara alone. 
' fXsXog. * vSfiog. ^ avpiy^. 

* Groskurd and Meineke propose emendations of the text of this 
passage. The translation is rather a paraphrase^ 



B. IX. c. III. § 12. PHOCIS. 121 

times, but especially in treating subjects of this kind. For it 
is absurd, he says, if, in other things, we constantly follow this 
practice, but that when we come to speak of the oracle, which 
of all others is the most exempt from deception, we should 
introduce tales so incredible and false. Yet immediately 
afterwards he says, that it is the received opinion that 
Apollo, by the aid of Themis, established this oracle with 
a view to benefit the human race. He then explains .these 
benefits, by saying, that men were invited to pursue a more 
civilized mode of life, and were taught maxims of wisdom by 
oracles ; by injunctions to perform or to abstain, or by posi- 
tive refusal to attend to the prayers of petitioners. Some, 
he says, suppose, that the god himself in a bodily form di- 
rects these things ; others, that he communicates an intima- 
tion of his will to men [by words]. 

12. And lower down, when speaking of the Delphians and 
their origin, he says, that certain persons, called Parnassii, 
an indigenous tribe, anciently inhabited Parnassus, about 
which time Apollo, traversing the country, reclaimed men 
from their savage state, by inducing them to adopt a more 
civilized mode of life and subsistence ; that, setting out from 
Athens on his way to Delphi, he took the same road along 
which the Athenians at present conduct the procession of the 
Pythias ; that when he arrived at the Panopeis, he put to 
death Tityus, who was master of the district, a violent and 
lawless man ; that the Parnassii having joined him informed 
him of Python, another desperate man, surnamed the Dragon. 
Whilst he was despatching this man with his arrows, they 
shouted. Hie Paian ; ^ whence has been transmitted the custom 
of singing the Paean before the onset of a battle ; that after the 
death of the Python the Delphians burnt even his tent, as they 
still continue to burn a tent in memorial of these events. Now 
what can be more fabulous than Apollo discharging his arrows, 
chastising Tityi and Pythons, his journey from Athens to 
Delphi, and his travels over the whole country ? If he did 
not consider these as fables, why did he call the fabulous 
Themis a woman, and the fabulous dragon a man, unless he 
intended to confound the provinces of history and fable. 
His account of the ^tolians is similar to this. After having 

^ Probably, says Pabner, the expression is derived from 'is -naii, O 
strike, or Vt nai, youth. 



122 STRABO. CASArB. 423. 

asserted that their country was never ravaged at any period, 
he says, that at one time it was inhabited by ^tolians, who 
had expelled the Barbarians ; that at another time, -^tolus, 
together with the Epeii from Elis, inhabited it ; [that ^tolus 
was overthrown by the Epeii,] and these again by Alcmaeon 
and Diomedes. 

I now return to the Phocians. 

13. Immediately on the sea-coast, next after Anticyra,^ and 
behind 2 it, is the small city Marathus ; then a promontory, 
Pharygiura, which has a shelter for vessels ; then the harbour 
at the farthest end, called Mychus,^ from the accident of its 
situation between Helicon^ and Ascra. 

Nor is Abj©,^ the seat of an oracle, far from these places, 
nor Ambrysus,^ nor Medeon, of the same name as a city in 
Boeotia. 

In the inland parts, next after Delphi, towards the east is 
Daulis,'^ a small town, where, it is gaid, Tereus, the Thracian, 
was prince ; and there they say is the scene of the fable of 
Philomela and Procne ; Thucydides lays it there ; but other 
writers refer it to Megara. The name of the place is derived 
from the thickets there, for they call thickets Dauli. Homer 
calls it Daulis, but subsequent writers Daulia, and the words 
" they who occupied Cyparissus," * 

are understood in a double sense ; some persons supposing it 
to have its name from the tree of the country, but others from 
a village situated below the Lycoreian territory. 

14. Panopeus, the present Phanoteus, the country of Epeius, 
is on the confines of the district of Lebadeia. Here the fable 
places the abode of Tityus. But Homer says, that the Phaea- 
cians conducted Phadamanthus to Euboea, 

" in order to see Tityus, son of the earth ; " ' 

* Aspra-Spitia. 

^ oTTicrBev, " behind it," but Marathus is on the opposite side of the 
bay. The ruins are indicated in modem maps. 

^ The bay of Metochi d'Hagia. * Zagora. 

* This place is represented in the Austrian map by ruins near Exarcho. 
But how does Strabo place "not far from" the Crisfean Gulf, Abje, 
which was certainly near Hyampolis, on the borders of the Locri Epicne- 
midii ? It is on the authority of this passage only that geographers have 
placed a second Abse behind Ambrysus, at the foot of Parnassus. 

« Distomo ? 7 Daulia. » II. ii. 519. » Od. vii. 324. 



B. IX. c. in. § 15, 16. PHOCIS. 123 

they show also in the island a cave called Elarium, from Elara 
the mother of Titjus, and an Heroum of Tityus, and some 
kind of honours are spoken of; which are paid to him. 

Near Lebadeia is Trachin, having the same name as that 
in CEtaea ; it is a small Phocian town. The inhabitants are 
called Trachinii. 

1 5. Anemoreia ^ has its name from a physical accident, to 
which it is liable. It is exposed to violent gusts of wind from 
a place called Catopterius,^ a precipitous mountain, extending 
from Parnassus. It was a boundary between Delphi and the 
Phocians, when the Lacedaemonians made the Delphians 
separate themselves from the common body of the Phocians,^ 
and permitted them to form an independent state. 

Some call the place Anemoleia ; it was afterwards called by 
others Hyampolis,* (and also Hya,) whither we said the Hy- 
antes were banished from Boeotia. It is situated quite in the 
interior, near Parapotamii, and is a different place from Hy- 
ampea on Parnassus. 

Elateia^ is the largest of the Phocian cities, but Homer was 
not acquainted with it, for it is later than his times. It is 
conveniently situated to repel incursions on the side of Thes- 
saly. Demosthenes^ points out the advantage of its posi- 
tion, in speaking of the confusion which suddenly arose, when 
a messenger arrived to inform the Prytaneis of the capture of 
Elateia. 

16. Parapotamii is a settlement on the Cephissus, in the 
neighbourhood of Phanoteus, Chseroneia, and Elateia. This 
place, according to Theopompus, is distant from Chaeroneia 
about 40 stadia, and is the boundary between the Ambryseis, 
Panopeis, and Daulieis. It is situated at the entrance from 
Bojotia to the Phocians, upon an eminence of moderate 
height, between Parnassus and the mountain [Hadylium, 
where there is an open space] of 5 stadia in extent, through 
which runs the Cephissus, affording on each side a narrow 
pass. This river has its source at Lilasa, a Phocian city, as 
Homer testifies ; 

* dvefiog, the wind. ' The Look-out. ' 457, b. c. 

* This place was destroyed in the Persian war ; no remains existed in 
the time of Pausanias. 

* The ruins are situated on the east of Turkochorio, made a free state 
by the Romans. Pausanias, b. x. ch. 34. 

* Demos, pro Coronst. b. c. 338. 



124 STRABO. Casatjb. 424. 

" tliey who occupied Lilaea, near the source of the Cephissus ; " ^ 
and empties itself into the lake Copais. But Hadylium ex- 
tends 60 stadia, as far as Hyphanteium, on which Orchomenus 
is situated. Hesiod also enlarges on the river and its stream, 
how it takes through the whole of Phocis an oblique and 
serpentine course ; 

" which, like a serpent, winds along Panopeus and the strong Glechon, and 
through Orchomenus." * 

The narrow pass near Parapotamii, or Parapotamia, (for 
the name is written both ways,) was disputed in [the Phocian 
war,] for this is the only entrance [into Phocis].^ 

There is a Cephissus in Phocis, another at Athens, and 
another at Salamis. There is a fourth and a fifth at Sicyon 
and at Scyrus ; [a sixth at Argos, having its source in the 
Lyrceium].'^ At ApoUonia,^ also, near Epidamnus,^ there is 
near the Gymnasium a spring, which is called Cephissus. 

17. Daphnus"^ is at present in ruins. It was at one time a 
city of Phocis, and lay close to the Eubcean Sea ; it divided 
the Locri Epicnemidii into two bodies, namely, the Locri on 
the side of Boeotia,^ and the Locri on the side of Phocis, which 
then extended from sea to sea. A proof of this is the Sche- 
dieum, [in Daphnus,] called the tomb of Schedius.^ [It has 
been already said] that Daphnus [divides] Locris into two 
parts, [in such a manner as to prevent] the Epicnemidii and 
Opuntii from touching upon each other in any part. In after- 
times Daphnus was included within the boundaries of the 
[Opuntii]. 

On the subject of Phocis, this may suffice. 

* II. ii. 523. ^ The quotation is from a lost poem. 
^ Conjectures of Groskurd, and approved by Kramer. 

* Meineke supposes these words to be an interpolation, because no 
mention is made by other writers, nor by Strabo himself, in his enumer- 
ation of the rivers in Argolis, of the existence of a river called Cephissus 
at Argos. 

^ Polina. ^ Dyrrachium, now Durazzo. 

' The site appears to have been to the south-east of the modern town 
Neochorio. 

* From hence to the close of the paragraph the text is very corrupt ; 
the restorations are due to the conjectures of Du Theil, Groskurd, and 
Kramer. 

' Schedius, according to Homer, II. ii. 517, and II. xvii. 306, was one 
of the chiefs of the Phocians. 



B. IX. c. IV. § 1, 2. LOCRIS. 125 



CHAPTER IV. 

1 . LocRis, which we are now to describe, follows next in 
order. 

It is divided into two parts, one of which is occupied by the 
Locri opposite Euboea, and, as we have already said, form- 
erly consisted of two bodies, situated one on each side of 
Daphrius. The Locri Opuntii had their surname from Opus,^ 
the capital ; the Epicnemidii from a mountain called Cnemis. ^ 
The rest are the Locri Hesperii, who are called, also Locri 
Ozolae. These are separated from the Locri Opuntii and 
Epicnemidii by Parnassus, which lies between them, and by 
the Tetrapolis of the Dorians. We shall first speak of the 
Opuntii. 

2. Immediately after Halae, where the Boeotian coast oppo- 
site Euboea terminates, is the Opuntian bay. Opus is the 
capital, as the inscription intimates, which is engraved on the 
first of the five pillars at Thermopylae, near the Polyandrium : ^ 

" Opoeis, the capital of the Locri, hides in its bosom those who died in 
defence of Greece against the Medes." 

It is distant from the sea about 15 stadia, and 60 from the 
naval arsenal. The arsenal is Cynus,"* a promontory, which 
forms the boundary of the Opuntian bay. The latter is 40 
stadia in extent. Between Opus and Cynus is a fertile plain, 
opposite to JEdepsus in Euboea, where are the warm baths ^ 
of Hercules, and is separated by a strait of 160 stadia. 
Deucalion is said to have lived at Cynus. There also is 
shown the tomb of Pyrrha ; but that of DeucaHon is at 
Athens. Cynus is distant from Mount Cnemis about 50 
stadia. The island Atalanta^ is opposite to Opus, having the 

' The ruins of Opus are indicated as existing between Talanti and 
the sea. 

2 A portion of the ridge of CEta, on the north-west of Talanti, now 
Chlomos. 

^ A monument, or cenotaph, common to many persons. 

* The site is marked by a tower called Paleopyrgo, near the modern 
Lebanitis. 

* Mentioned by Athenseus, b. iii. Hot springs were generally sacred 
to Hercules. 

* Diodorus Siculus asserts that it was separated from the continent by 



126 STRABO. Casaub. 425. 

same name as the island in front of Attica. It is said, that 
some Opuntii are to be found in the Eleian territory, whom 
it is not worth while to notice, except that they pretend to 
trace some affinity subsisting between themselves and the 
Locri Opuntii. Homer ^ says that Patroclus was from Opus, 
and that having committed murder undesignedly, he fled to 
Peleus, but that the father Menoetius remained in his native 
country ; for it is to Opus that Achilles promised Menoetius 
that he would bring back Patroclus on his return from the 
Trojan expedition.^ Not that Menoetius was king of the 
Opuntii, but Ajax the Locrian, who, according to report, was 
born at Narycus. The name of the person killed by Patro- 
clus was ^anes ; a grove, called after him ^aneium, and a 
fountain, ^anis, are shown. 

3. Next after Cynus is Alope^ and Daphnus, which last, 
we have said, is in ruins. At Alope is a harbour, distant 
from Cynus about 90 stadia, and 120 from Elateia, in the 
interior of the country. But these belong to the Maliac, 
which is continuous with the Opuntian Gulf. 

4. Next to Daphnus, at the distance of about 20 stadia by 
sea, is Cnemides, a strong place, opposite to which in Euboea 
is Cenaeum, a promontory, looking towards the west and the 
Maliac Gulf, and separated by a strait of nearly 20 stadia. 

At Cnemides we are in the territory of the Locri Epicne- 
midii. Here are the Lichades, as they are called, three islands, 
having their name from Lichas ; they lie in front of Cnemides. 
Other islands also are met with in sailing along this coast, 
which we purposely pass over. 

At the distance of 20 stadia from Cnemides is a harbour, 
above which at the same distance, in the interior, is situated 
Thronium.'* Then the Boagrius, which flows beside Thro- 
nium, empties itself into the sea. It has another name also, 
that of Manes. It is a winter torrent ; whence its bed may 
be crossed at times dry-shod, and at another it is two plethra 
in width. 

Then after these is Scarpheia, at a distance of 10 stadia 

an earthquake ; but statements of this kind were commonly and hastily 
made, where the natural appearances were favourable to them. 

» II. xxiii. 85. 2 II. xviii. 326. 

3 The ruins have been discovered by Gell on an insulated hill, near the 
sea-shore. 

"* Paleocastro, in Marmara, near Romani. 



B. IX. c. IV. § 5-8. LOCRIS. 127 

from the sea, and of 30 from Thronium, but at a little [less 
from its harbour.] ^ Next are Nicsea and Thermopylae. 

5. It is not worth while to speak of any of the other cities. 
Of those mentioned by Homer, Calliarus is no longer inha- 
bited, it is now a well-cultivated plain. Bessa, a sort of plain, 
does not now exist. It has its name from an accidental 
quality, for it abounds with woods. x^^P"^ exovcn ^t:ap(f>u~ic, &c. 
It ought to be written with a double s, for it has its name from 
Bessa, a wooded valley, like Nape,^ in the plain of Methymna,^ 
which Hellanicus, through ignorance of the local circum- 
stances, improperly calls Lape ; but the demus in Attica, from 
which the burghers are called Besaeenses, is written with a 
single s. 

6. Tarphe is situated upon a height, at the distance of 20 
stadia from [Thronium]. It has a territory, productive and 
well wooded ; for this place also has its name from its being 
thickly wooded. It is now called Pharygae. A temple of Juno 
Pharygasa is there, called so from the Argive Juno at Pharygae; 
and the inhabitants assert that they are of Argive origin. 

7. Homer does not mention, at least not in express words, 
the Locri Hesperii, but only seems to distinguish them from 
the people of whom we have spoken ; 

" Locri, who dwell beyond the sacred Euboea ; " * 

as if there were other Locri. They occupied the cities Am- 
phissa^ and Naupactus.^ The latter still subsists near Antir- 
rhium.'^ It has its name from the ships that were built there, 
either because the Heraclidas constructed their fleet at this 
place, or because the Locri, as Ephorus states, had built ves- 
sels there long before that time. At present it belongs to the 
^tolians, by a decree of Philip. 

8. There also is Chalcis, mentioned by the poet^ in the 
-^tolian Catalogue. It is below Calydon. There also is the 
hill Taphiassus, on which is the monument of Nessus, and of 
the other Centaurs. From the putrefaction of the bodies of 
these people there flows, it is said, from beneath the foot of 
that hill a stream of water, which exhales a foetid odour, and 

• A conjecture by Groskurd. 

2 ^ijffffat and vdirr], wooded hollows. ^ In the island of Lesbos. 

* II. ii. 535. ' Salona, or Lampeni. • Lepanto. 
^ Castel de Roumeli. s n ^^ q^q^ 



128 STRABO. Casaub. 427.' 

contains clots of blood. Hence also the nation had the name 
of Ozolae.^ 

Opposite Antirrhium is Molycreia,^ a small ^tolian city. 

Araphissa is situated at the extremity of the Crisgean plain. 
It was razed, as we have said before, by the Amphictyons. 
OEanthia and Eupalium belong to the Locri. The whole voy- 
age along the coast of the Locri is a little more than 200 stadia. 

9. There is an Alope ^ both here among the Locri Ozolag, as 
also among the Epicnemidii, and in the Phthiotis. These are 
a colony of the Epicnemidii, and the Epizephyrii a colony of 
the Ozolas. 

10. jiEtolians are continuous with the Locri Hesperii, and 
the ^nianes, who occupy CEta with the Epicnemidii, and be- 
tween them Dorians. These last are the people who inha- 
bited the Tetrapolis, which is called the capital of all the 
Dorians. They possessed the cities Erineus, Boeum, Pindus, 
Cytinium. Pindus is situated above Erineus. A river of the 
same name flows beside it, and empties itself into the Cephis- 
sus, not far from Lilaea. Some writers call Pindus, Acyphas. 

jEgimius, king of these Dorians, when an exile from his 
kingdom, was restored, as they relate, by Hercules. He re- 
quited this favour after the death of Hercules at (Eta by 
adopting Hyllus, the eldest of the sons of Hercules, and both he 
and his descendants succeeded him in the kingdom. It was 
from this place that the Heracleidae set out on their return to 
Peloponnesus. 

11. These cities were for some time of importance, although 
they were small, and their territory not fruitful. They were 
afterwards neglected. After what they suffered in the Pho- 
cian war and under the dominion of the Macedonians, ^to- 
lians, and Athamanes, it is surprising that even a vestige of 
them should have remained to the time of the Romans. 

It was the same with the ^nianes, who were exterminated 
by JEtolians and Athamanes. The ^tolians were a very 
powerful people, and carried on war together with the Acar- 
nanians. The Athamanes were the last of the Epeirotse, who 
attained distinction when the rest were declining, and acquired 
power by the assistance of their king Amynander. The 
^nianes, however, kept possession of CEta. 

' From d^elv, to smell. ^ Maurolimne. 

^ The site is unknown. 



B. IX. c. IV. § 12—15. LOCRIS. 129 

12. This mountain extends from Thermopylae and the east, to 
the Ambracian Gulf and the west ; it may be said to cut at right 
angles the mountainous tract, extending from Parnassus as far 
as Pindus, and to the Barbarians who live beyond. The por- 
tion of this mountain verging towards Thermopylae ^ is called 
CEta ; it is 200 stadia in length, rocky and elevated, but the 
highest part is at Thermopylae, for there it forms a peak, and 
terminates with acute and abrupt rocks, continued to the sea. 
It leaves a narrow passage for those who are going from 
Thessaly to Locris. 

13. This passage is called Pylae, or gates, straits, and Ther- 
mopyla3, because near the straits are hot springs, which are 
held in honour as sacred to Hercules. The mountain above 
is called Callidromus ; but some writers call by the name of 
Callidromus the remaining part of the range extending 
through JEtolia and Acarnania to the Ambracian Gulf. 

At Thermopylae within the straits are strongholds, as 
Nicaea, on the sea of the Locri, Teichius and Heracleia above 
it, formerly called Trachin, founded by the Lacedaemonians. 
Heracleia is distant from the ancient Trachin about 6 stadia. 
Next follows Rhoduntia, strong by its position. 

14. These places are rendered difficult of access by a rocky 
country, and by Bodies of water, forming ravines through 
which they pass. For besides the Spercheius,^ which flows 
past Anticyra, there is the Dyras, which, it is said, endea- 
voured to extinguish the funeral pile of Hercules, and another 
river, the Melas, distant about 5 stadia from Trachin. He- 
rodotus says,^ that to the south of Trachin there is a deep 
fissure, through which the Asopus, (which has the same name 
as other rivers that we have mentioned,) empties itself into 
the sea without the Pylas, having received the river Phoenix 
which flows from the south, and unites with it. The latter 
river bears the name of the hero, whose tomb is shown near it. 
From the Asopus (Phoenix?) to Thermopylae are 15 stadia. 

15. These places were of the greatest celebrity when they 
formed the keys of the straits. There were frequent contests 
for the ascendency between the inhabitants without and those 
within the straits. Philip used to call Chalcis and Corinth 
the fetters of Greece with reference to the opportunity which 
they afforded for invasions from Macedonia ; and persons in 

' Near Dervend-Elapha. « The Hellada. ^ B. vii. c. 198, and c. 200. 



130 STRABO. Casaub. 429. 

later times called both these places and Demetrias " the 
fetters," for Demetrias commanding Pelion and Ossa, com- 
manded also the passes at Tempe. Afterwards, however, 
when the whole country was subject to one power, the passes 
were freely open to all.^ 

16. It was at these straits that Leonidas and his com- 
panions, together with a small body of persons from the 
neighbourhood, resisted the numerous forces of the Persians, 
until the Barbarians, making a circuit of the mountains along 
narrow paths, surrounded and cut them to pieces. Their place 
of burial, the Polyandrium, is still to be seen there, and the 
celebrated inscription sculptured on theLacedsemonian pillar; 
" Stranger, go tell Lacedaemon that we lie here in obedience 
to her laws/' 

17. There is also a large harbour here and a temple of 
Ceres, in which the Amphictyons at the time of every Pylaean 
assembly offered sacrifice. From the harbour to the Hera- 
cleian Trachin are 40 stadia by land, but by sea to Cenaeum ^ 
it is 70 stadia. The Spercheius empties itself immediately 
without the Pylae. To Pylae from the Euripus are 530 stadia. 
And here Locris terminates. The parts without the Pylse to- 
wards the east, and the Maliac Gulf, belong to the Thessali- 
ans ; those towards the west, to the JEtolians and Acarna- 
nians. The Athamanes are extinct. 

18. The Thessalians form the largest and most ancient 
community. One part of them has been mentioned by Homer, 
and the rest by many other writers. Homer constantly men- 
tions the ^tolians under one name ; he places cities, and not 
nations dependent upon them, if we except the Curetes, whom 
we must place in the division of jEtolians. 

We must begin our account with the Thessalians, omitting 
very ancient and fabulous stories, and what is not generally 
admitted, (as we have done in other instances,) but propose 
to mention what appears suited to our purpose. 

' Translated according to Kramer's proposed emendation. Demetrias, 
according to Leake, occupies the southern or maritime face of a height 
called Goritza, which projects from the coast of Magnesia between 2 and 
3 miles to the southward of the middle of Volo. Pausanias, b. vii. c. 7, 
says that Philip called Chalcis, Corinth, and Magnesia in Thessaly, the 
" Keys of Greece." Livy, b. xxxii. c. 37. 

2 C. Lithada. 



B. IX. c. V. § 1. THESSALY. 131 



CHAPTER V. 

1. The sea-coast, extending from Thermopyte to tiie 
mouths of the Peneius,^ and the extremities of Pelion, looking 
towards the east, and the northern extremities of Euboea, is 
that of Thessaly. The parts opposite Euboea and Thermo- 
pylae are occupied by Malienses, and by Achaean Phthiotae ; 
those towards Pelion by the Magnetes. This may be called 
the eastern and maritime side of Thessaly. From either side 
from Pelion, and the Peneius, towards the inland parts are 
Macedonians, who extend as far as Paeonia, (Pindus ?) and the 
Epeirotic nations. From Thermopylae, the (Etasan and -^to- 
lian mountains, which approach close to the Dorians, and 
Parnassus, are parallel to the Macedonians. The side towards 
the Macedonians may be called the northern side ; the other, 
the southern. There remains the western side, enclosed by 
-^tolians and Acarnanians, by Amphilochians and Athamanes, 
who are Epirotae ; by the territory of the Molotti, formerly 
said to be that of the ^thices, and, in short, by the country 
about Pindus. Thessaly,^ in the interior, is a plain country 
for the most part, and has no mountains, except Pelion and 
Ossa. These mountains rise to a considerable height, but do 
not encompass a large tract of country, but terminate in the 
plains. 

2. These are the middle parts of Thessaly, a district of very 
fertile country, except that part of it which is oveVflowed by 
rivers. The Peneius flows through the middle of the country, 
and receiving many rivers, frequently overflows. Form_erly, 
according to report, the plain was a lake ; it is enclosed on all 
sides inland by mountains, and the sea-coast is more elevated 
than the plains. When a chasm was formed, at the place now 
called Tempe, by shocks of an earthquake, and Ossa was riven 
from Olympus, the Peneius flowed out through it to the sea, 
and drained this tract of country. Still there remained the 
large lake Nessonis, and the lake Boebeis ; which is of less 
extent than the Nessonis, and nearer to the sea-coast. 

• The Salambria. 

' This paragraph is translated as proposed by Meineke, who has fol- 
lowed the suggestions of Du Theil, Groskurd, and Kramer, in correctiiig 
the text. 

K 2 



132 STRABO. Casaub. 430. 

3. Such then is Thessaly, which is divided into four parts, 
Phthiotis, Hestiaeotis, Thessaliotis, and Pelasgiotis. 

Phthiotis comprises the southern parts, extending along 
(Eta from the Maliac and (or) PylaTc Gulf ^ as far as Dolopia 
and Pindus, increasing in breadth to Pharsalia and the Thes- 
salian plains. 

Hestiaeotis comprises the western parts and those between 
Pindus and Upper Macedonia ; the rest is occupied by the 
inhabitants of the plains below Hestiaeotis, who are called 
Pelasgiotae, and approach close to the Lower Macedonians ; by 
the [Thessalians] also, who possess the country ne^jit in 
order, as far as the coast of Magnesia. 

The names of many cities might here be enumerated, 
which are celebrated on other accounts, but particularly as 
being mentioned by Homer ; few of them, however, but most 
of all Larisa, preserve their ancient importance. 

4. The poet having divided the whole of the country, which 
we call Thessaly, into ten^ parts and dynasties, and having 
taken in addition some portion of the CEtaean and Locrian ter- 
ritory, and of that also which is now assigned to the Macedon- 
ians, shows (what commonly happened to every country) the 
changes which, entirely or in part, they undergo according to 
the power possessed by their respective governors. 

5. The poet first enumerates the Thessalians subject to 
Achilles, who occupied the southern side, and adjoined QEta, 
and the Locri Epicnemidii ; 

" All who dwelt in Pelasgic Argos ; they who occupied Alus, Alope, and 
Trachin; they who possessed Phthia, and Hellas, abounding with beauti- 
ful women, were called Myrmidones, Hellenes, and Achaei." ^ 

He joins together with these the people under the command of 
Phoenix, and makes them compose one common expedition. 
The poet nowhere mentions the Dolopian forces in the battles 
near Ilium, neither does he introduce their leader Phoenix, as 
undertaking, like Nestor, dangerous enterprises. But Phoenix 
is mentioned by others, as by Pindar, 

* G. of Zeitun. 

2 The ten states or dynasties mentioned by Homer were those of, ] . 
Achilles. 2. Protesilaiis. 3. Eumelus. 4. Philoctetes. 5. Podalirius 
and Machaon. 6. Eurypyhis. 7. Polypoetes. 8. Guneus. 9. Pro- 
thoiis. These are named in the Catalogue in the 2nd Book of the Iliad ; 
the 10th, Dolopia, of which Phoenix was chief, in II. xvi. 196. 

3 II. ii. 681. 



B. IX. C.V.J 6. THESSALY. 133 

" Who led a brave band of Dolopian slingers, 

Who were to aid the javelins of the Danai, tamers of horses." 

The words of the poet are to be understood according to the 
figure of the grammarians, by which something is suppressed, 
for it would be ridiculous for the king to engage in the expe- 
dition, 

(*•' I live at the extremity of Phthia, chief of the Dolopians," ') 
and his subjects not to accompany him. For [thus] he would 
not appear to be a comrade of Achilles in the expedition, but 
only as the commander of a small body of men, and a speaker, 
and if so, a counsellor. The verses seem to imply this mean- 
ing, for they are to this effect, 

■ "To be an eloquent speaker, and to achieve great deeds."' 

From this it appears that Homer considered the forces 
under Achilles and Phoenix as constituting one body ; but the 
places mentioned as being under the authority of Achilles, are 
subjects of controversy. 

Some have understood Pelasgic Argos to be a Thessalian 
city, formerly situated near Larisa, but now no longer in ex- 
istence. Others do not understand a city to be meant by this 
name, but the Thessalian plain, and to have been so called by 
Abas, who established a colony there from Argos. 

6. With respect to Phthia, some suppose it to be the same 
as Hellas and Achaia, and that these countries form the south- 
ern portion in the division of Thessaly into two parts. But 
others distinguish Phthia and Hellas. The poet seems to dis- 
tinguish them in these verses ; 

" they who occupied Phthia and Hellas," ' 
as if they were two countries. And, again, 

" Then far away through wide Greece I fled and came to Phthia,"* 
and, 

"There are many Achaean women in Hellas and Phthia."* 

The poet then makes these places to be two, but whether 
cities or countries he does not expressly say. Some of the , 
later writers, who affirm that it is a country, suppose it to 
have extended from Palaepharsalns to Thebae Phthiotides. 
In this country also is Thetidium, near both the ancient and 
the modern Pharsalus; and it is conjectured from Theti- 

» II. ix. 480. 2 II. ix. 443. 3 II II 683. 

♦ II. ix. 498. » II. ix. 395. 



134 STRABO. Casaub. 432. 

dium that the country, in which it is situated, was a part of 
that under the comratind of Achilles. Others, who regard it 
as a city, allege that the Pharsalii show at the distance of 60 
stadia from their own city, a city in ruins, which they believe 
to be Hellas, and two springs near it, Messei's and Hypereia. 
But the Melitaeenses say, that at the distance of about 10 
stadia from their city, was situated Hellas on the other side 
of the Enipeus,^ when their own city had the name of Pyrrha, 
and that the Hellenes migrated from Hellas, which was built 
in a low situation, to theirs. They adduce in proof of this 
the tomb of Hellen, son of Deucalion and Pyrrha, which is in 
their market-place. For according to historians, Deucalion 
was king of Phthiotis and of all Thessaly. The Enipeus flows 
from Othrys^ beside Pharsalus,^ and empties itself into the 
Apidanus,'^ and the latter into the Peneius. 

Thus much, then, respecting the Hellenes. 

7. The people under the command of Achilles, Protesilaus, 
and Philoctetes, are called Phthii. The poet furnishes evi- 
dence of this. Having recited in the Catalogue of those 
under the command of Achilles, 

" the people of Phthia,"^ 

he represents them at the battle at the ships, as remaining in 
the ships with Achilles, and inactive; but those under the 
command of Philoctetes, as fighting with Medon [as their 
leader], and those under the command of Protesilaus, with 
Podarces [as their chief]. Of these the poet speaks in 
general terms ; 

" there were BcEoti and laones wearing long robes, Locri, Phthii, and 
illustrious Epeii."* 

But here he particularizes them ; 

"at the head of the Phthii fought Medon and Podarces, firm in battle. 
These armed with breastplates fought together with Boeoti, at the head of 
the magnanimous Phthii, keeping away the enemy from the ships." ^ 

Perhaps the people with Eurypylus were called Phthii, as 
they bordered upon the country of the latter. At present, 
however, historians assign to Magnesia the country about 
Ormenium, which was subject to Eurypylus, and the whole of 
that subject to Philoctetes ; but they regard the country un- 

' The Vlacho. ' Part of the range of Mount Gura. 

^ Satalda, The plain of Pharsalia is to the north. •* The Gura. 

* II. ii. 683. 6 II. xiii. 685. ^ II. xiii. 693, 699, 



B. IX. c.v. §8. THESSALY. 135 

der the command of Protesilaus as belonging to Phtliia, from 
Dolopia and Pindus to the sea of Magnesia ; but as far as the 
citj Antron, (now written in the plural number,) which was 
subject to Protesilaus, beginning from Trachinia and OEta, is 
the width of the territory belonging to Peleus and Achilles. 
But this is nearly the whole length of the Maliac Gulf. 

8. They entertain doubts resl)ecting Halus and Alope, 
whether Homer means the places which are now comprised 
in the Phthiotic government, or those among the Locri, since 
the dominion of Achilles extended hither as well as to Tra- 
chin and the CEtaean territory. For Halus and Halius, as 
well as Alope, are on the coast of the Locri. But some sub- 
stitute Halius for Alope, and write the verse in this manner ; 
" they who inhabited Halus, and Halius, and Trachin." ' 

But the Phthiotic Halus lies under the extremity of the moun- 
tain Othrys, which lies to the north of Phthiotis, and borders 
upon the mountain Typhrestus and the Dolopians, and 
thence stretches along to the country near the Maliac Gulf. 
Halus,^ either masculine or feminine, for it is used in both 
genders, is distant from Itonus^ about 60 stadia. Athamas 
founded Halus ; it was destroyed, but subsequently [restored by 
the Pharsalii]. It is situated above the Crocian plain, and the 
river Amphrysus* flows by its walls. Below the Crocian plain 
lies Thebae Phthiotides ; Halus likewise, which is in Achaia, 
is called Phthiotis ; this, as well as the foot of Mount Othrys, 
approaches close to the Malienses. As Phylace loo, which was 
under the command of Protesilaus, so Halus also belongs to 
Phthiotis, which adjoins to the Malienses. Halus is distant from 
Thebes about 100 stadia, and lies in the middle between Phar- 
salus and Thebse Phthiotides. Philip, however, took it from 
the latter, and assigned it to the Pharsalii. Thus it happens, 
as we have said before, that boundaries and the distribution of 
nations and places are in a state of continual change. Thus 
Sophocles also called Phthiotis, Trachinia, Artemidorus places 
Halus on the coast beyond the Maliac Gulf, but as belonging 
to Phthiotis. For proceeding thence in the direction of the 
Peneius, he places Pteleum after Antron, then Halus at the 
distance of 110 stadia from Pteleum. 

' II. ii. 682. 2 5"AXog, or?/"A\oc. ^ Armyrus. 

* Hence Virgil, Geor. 3, calls Apollo, Pastor ab Amphryso. 



136 STRABO. Casaub. 433. 

I have already spoken of Trachin, and described the nature 
of the place. The poet mentions it by name. 

9. As Homer frequently mentions the Spercheius as a river 
of the country, having its source in the Typhrestus, a Dryo- 
pian mountain, formerly called [Tymphrestus], and empty- 
ing itself near Thermopylae, between Trachin and Lamia,^ he 
might imply that whatever parts of the Maliac Gulf were 
either within or without the Pylas, were subject to Achilles. 

The Spercheius is distant about 30 stadia from Lamia, 
which lies above a plain, extending to the Maliac Gulf. That 
the Spercheius is a river of the country [subject to Achil- 
les], appears from the words of Achilles, who says, that he 
had devoted his hair to the Spercheius ; and from the cir- 
cumstance, that Menesthius, one of his commanders, was said 
to be the son of Spercheius and the sister of Achilles. 

It is probable that all the people under the command of 
Achilles and Patroclus, and who had accompanied Peleus in 
his banishment from JEgina, had the name of Myrmidons, 
but all the Phthiotse were called Achaeans. 

10. They reckon in the Phthiotic district, which was sub- 
ject to Achilles, beginning from the Malienses, a considerable 
number of towns, and among them Thebee Phthiotides, Echi- 
nus, Lamia, near which the war was carried on between the 
Macedonians and Antipater, against the Athenians. In this 
war Leosthenes, the Athenian general, was killed, [and Leon- 
natus,] one of the companions of Alexander the king. Be- 
sides the above-mentioned towns, we must add [Narthac]ium, 
Erineus, Coroneia, of the same name as the town in Boeotia, 
Melitaga, Thaumaci, Proerna, Pharsalus, Eretria, of the same 
name as the Euboic town, Paracheloitae, of the same name 
as those in JEtolia ; for here also, near Lamia, is a river Ache- 
lous, on the banks of which live the Paracheloitae. 

This district, lying to the north, extended to the north- 
western territory of the Asclepiadae, and to the territory of 
Eurypylus and Protesilaus, inclining to the east ; on the south 
it adjoined the (Etaean territory, which was divided into four- 
teen demi, and contained Heracleia and Dryopis, which was 
once a community of four cities, (a Tetrapolis,) like Doris, 
and accounted the capital of the Dryopes in Peloponnesus. 
To the CEtaean district belong also the Acyphas, Parasopias, 
' Isdin or Zeitun, 



i 



B. IX. c. V. 5 U— 13. THESSALY. 137 

OEneiadae, and Anticyra, of the same name as the town among 
the Locri Hesperii. I do not mean that these divisions al- 
ways continued the same, for thej underwent various changes. 
The most remarkable, however, are worthy of notice. 

11. The poet with sufficient clearness .describes the situation 
of the Dolopes, as at the extremity of Phthia, and says that 
both they and the Phthiotas were under the command of the 
same chief, Peleus ; 

" I lived," he says, "at the farthest part of Phthia, king of the Dolopes."' 
Peleus, however, had conferred on him the authority. 

This region is close to Pindus, and the places about it, most 
of which belong to the Thessalians. For in consequence of 
the renown and ascendency of the Thessalians and Mace- 
donians, those Epeirotag, who bordered nearest upon them, be- 
came, some voluntarily, others by force, incorporated among 
the Macedonians and Thessalians. In this manner the Atha- 
manes, -^thices, and Talares were joined to the Thessalians, 
and the Orestas, Pelagones, and Elimiotae to the Macedonians. 

12. Pindus is a large mountain, having on the north Mace- 
donia, on the west Perrhaebi, settlers from another country, 
on the south Dolopes, [and on the east Hestiseotis] which 
belongs to Thessaly. Close upon Pindus dwelt Talares, 
a tribe of Molotti, detached from the Molotti about Mount 
Tomarus, and ^thices, among whom the poet says the Cen- 
taurs took refuge when expelled by Peirithous.^ They 
are at present, it is said, extinct. But this extinction is to 
be understood in two senses ; either the inhabitants have 
been exterminated, and the country deserted, or the name of 
the nation exists no longer, or the community does not pre- 
serve its ancient form. Whenever the community, which 
continues, is insignificant, we do not think it worth while to 
record either its existence or its change of name. But when 
it has any just pretensions to notice, it is necessary to remark 
the change which it has undergone. 

13. It remains for us to describe the tract of sea-coast sub- 
ject to Achilles : we begin from Thermopylae, for we have 
spoken of the coast of Locris, and of the interior. 

Thermopylas is separated from the Cengeum by a strait 70 
stadia across. Coasting beyond the Pylae, it is at a distance 
from the Spercheius of about 10, (60 ?) and thence to Phalara 
' II. ix. 484. 2 II. u_ 744. 



138 STRABO. Casaub. 435. 

of 20 stadia. Above Phalara, 50 stadia from the sea, lies the 
city of the [Lamians]. Then coasting along the shore 100 
stadia, we find above it, Echinus. At the distance of 20 stadia 
from the following tract of coast, in the interior, is Larisa 
Cremaste, which has the name also of Larisa Pelasgia. 

14. Then follows a small island, Mjonnesus ; next An- 
tron ; which was subject to Protesilaus. Thus much concern- 
ing the territory subject to Achilles. 

As the poet, in naming the chiefs, and cities under their 
rule, has divided the country into numerous well-known parts, 
and has given an accurate account of the whole circuit of 
Thessaly, we shall follow him, as before, in completing the 
description of this region. 

Next to the people under the command of Achilles, he 
enumerates those under the command of Protesilaus. They 
were situated, next, along the sea-coast which was subject to 
Achilles, as far as Antron. The boundary of the country 
under the command of Protesilaus, is determined by its being 
situated without the Maliac Gulf, yet still in Phthiotis, though 
not within Phthiotis subject to Achilles. 

Phylace ^ is near Thebse Plithiotides, which was subject to 
Protesilaus, as were also Halus, Larisa Cremaste, and Deme- 
trium, all of which lie to the east of Mount Othrys. 

The Demetrium he speaks of ^ as an enclosure sacred to Ceres, 
and calls it Pyrasus. Pyrasus was a city with a good harbour, 
having at the distance of 2 stadia from it a grove, and a temple 
consecrated to Ceres. It is distant from Thebae 20 stadia. 
The latter is situated above Pyrasus. Above Thebas in the 
inland parts is the Crocian plain at the extremity of the moun- 
tain Othrys. Through this plain flows the river Amphrysus. 
AbdVe it is the Itonus, where is the temple of the Itonian 
Minerva, from which that in Boeotia has its name, also the 
river Cuarius. [Of this river and] of Arne we have spoken 
in our account of Boeotia. 

These places are in Thessaliotis, one of the four divisions of 
all Thessaly, in which were the possessions of Eurypylus. 
Phyllus, where is a temple of the Phyllaean Apollo, Ichnae, 
where the Ichnsean Themis is worshipped, Cierus, and [all 
the places as far as] Athamania, are included in Thessaliotis. 

At Antron, in the strait near Eubcea, is a sunk rock, called 
» Above S. Theodoro. « II. u. 695. 



B. IX. c. V. § 15. THESSALY. 139 

" the Ass of Antron." Next are Pteleum and Halus ; next 
the temple of Ceres, and Pyrasus in ruins ; above these, Thebae ; 
then Pyrrha, a promontory, and two small islands near, one of 
which is called Pyrrha, the other Deucalion. Somewhere 
here ends the territory of Phthiotis. 

15. The poet next mentions the people under Eumelus, and 
the continuous tract of coast which now belongs to Magnesia, 
and the Pelasgiotis. 

Pherae is the termination of the Pelasgic plains towards 
Magnesia, which plains extend as far as Pelion, a distance of 
160 stadia. Pagasse is the naval arsenal of Pherae, from which 
it is distant 90 stadia, and 20 from lolcus. lolcus has been 
razed from ancient times. It was. from this place that Pelias 
despatched Jason and the ship Argo. Pagasae had its name,^ 
according to mythologists, from the building of the ship Argo 
at this place. Others, with more probability, suppose that the 
name of the place was derived from the springs, (Tr/^ya/,) which 
are very numerous and copious. Near it is Aphetae, (so 
named) as the starting-place^ from which the Argonauts set 
off. lolcus is situated 7 stadia from Demetrias, overlooking 
the sea. Demetrias was founded by Demetrius Poliorcetes, 
who called it after his own name. It is situated between 
Nelia and Pagasae on the sea. He collected there the inhabit- 
ants of the neighbouring small cities, Nelia, Pagasse, Orme- 
nium, and besides these, Rhizus, Sepias, Olizon, Boebe, and 
lolcus, which are at present villages belonging to Demetrias. 
For a long time it was a station for vessels, and a royal seat of 
the Macedonian kings. It had the command of Tempe, and 
of both the mountains Pelion and Ossa. At present its ex- 
tent of power is diminished, yet it still surpasses all the cities 
in Magnesia. 

The lake Boebeis ^ is near Pherae,'' and approaches close to 
the extremities of Pelion and Magnesia. Bcebe is a small 
place situated on the lake. 

As civil dissensions and usurpations reduced the flourish- 
ing condition of lolcus, formerly so powerful, so they affected 
Pherae in the same manner, which was raised to prosperity, 
and was destroyed by tyrants. 

Near Demetrias flows the Anaurus. The continuous line 

' Trriyvvfii, to fasten. ' a<ptTr]piov, a starting-place. 

^ Karlas. * Velestina. 



140 STRABO. Casaub. 436 

of coast is called also lolcus. Here was held the Pylaic 
(Peliac ?) assembly and festival. 

Artemidorus places the Gulf of Pagasae farther from Deme- 
trias, near the places subject to Philoctetes. In the gulf he says 
is the island Cicynethijs/ and a small town of the same name. 

16.. The poet next enumerates the cities subject to Philoc- 
tetes. 

Methone is not the Thracian Methone razed by Philip. 
We have already noticed the change of name these places and 
others in the Peloponnesus have undergone. Other places 
enumerated as subject to Philoctetes, are Thaumacia, Olizon, 
and Meliboea, all along the shore next adjacent. 

In front of the Magnetos lie clusters of islands ; the most 
celebrated are Sciathus,^ Peparethus,^ Icus/ Halonnesus, and 
Scyrus,^ which contain cities of the same name. Scyrus how- 
ever is the most famous of any for the friendship which sub- 
sisted between Lycomedes and Achilles, and for the birth and 
education of Neoptolemus, the son of Achilles. In after 
times, when Philip became powerful, perceiving that the 
Athenians were masters of the sea, and sovereigns both of 
these and other islands, he made those islands which lay near 
his own country more celebrated than any of the rest. For 
as his object in waging war was the sovereignty of Greece, 
he attacked those places first which were near him ; and as 
he attached to Macedonia many parts of Magnesia itself, of 
Thrace, and of the rest of the surrounding country, so also he 
seized upon the islands in front of Magnesia, and made the 
possession of islands which were before entirely unknown, a 
subject of warlike contention, and brought them into notice. 

Scyrus however is particularly celebrated in ancient his- 
tories. It is also highly reputed for the excellence of its 
goats, and the quarries of variegated marble, such as the 
Carystian, the Deucallian, (Docimaean?) the Synnadic, and 
the Hierapolitic kinds. For there may be seen at Rome 
columns, consisting, of a single stone, and large slabs of 
variegated marble, (from Scyrus,) with which the city is em- 
bellished both at the public charge and at the expense of indi- 
viduals, which has caused works of white marble to be little 
esteemed. 

Trikeri. 2 Sciathos. ^ Scopelo ? 

* Selidromi? * Scyros. 



B. IX. c. V. § 17. THESSALY. 141 

17. The poet having proceeded so far along the Magnesian 
coast, returns to Upper Thessaly, for beginning from Dolopia 
and Pindus he goes through the region extending along 
Phthiotis to Lower Thessaly. 

" They who occupy Tricca and rocky Ithome." ' 
These places belong to Histiaeotis, which was formerly called 
Doris. When it was in the possession of the Perrhasbi, who de- 
stroyed Histiaeotis in Euboea, and had removed the inhabitants 
by force to the continent, they gave the country the name of 
Histiaeotis, on account of the great numbers of Histiaeans among 
the settlers. This country and Dolopia are called Upper Thes- 
saly, which is in a straight line with Upper Macedonia, as 
Lower Thessaly is in a straight line with Lower Macedonia. 

Tricca,^ where there is a very ancient and famous temple of 
^sculapius, borders upon the Dblopes, and the parts about 
Pindus. 

Ithome, which has the same name as the Messenian Ithome, 
ought not, they say, to be pronounced in this manner, but 
should be pronounced without the first syllable, Thome, for 
this was its former name. At present, it is changed to 
[Thumasum]. It is a spot strong by nature, and in reality 
rocky. It lies between four strong-holds, which form a square, 
Tricca, Metropolis, Pelinnaeum, and Gomphi.^ Ithome be- 
longs to the district of the Metropolitae. Metropolis was 
formed at first out of three small obscure cities, and after- 
wards more were included, and among these Ithome. Calli- 
machus says in his Iambics, 

" among the Venuses, (for the goddess bears several titles,) Vemis Cast- 
nietis surpasses all others in wisdom," 

for she alone accepts the sacrifice of swine. Certainly Gulli- 
machus, if any person could be said to possess information, 
was well informed, and it was his object, as he himself says, 
all his life to relate these fables. Later writers, however, 
have proved that there was not one Venus only, but several, 
who accepted that sacrifice, from among w^hom the goddess 
worshipped at Metropolis came, and that this [foreign] rite 
was delivered down by one of the cities which contributed to 
form that settlement. 

' II. ii. 729. 2 Tricala. 

' The ruins are pointed out to the south of Stagus Kalabak. 



142 STRABO. Casaub. 438. 

Pharcadon also is situated in the Hestiaeotis. The Peneius 
and the Curalius flow through jt. The Curalius, after flow- 
ing beside the temple of the Itonian Minerva, empties itself 
into the Peneius. 

The Peneius itself rises in Mount Pindus, as I have before 
said. It leaves Tricca, Pelinnaeum, and Pharcadon on the 
left hand, and takes its course beside Atrax and Larisa. 
After having received the rivers of the Thessaliotis it flows 
onwards through Tempe, and it empties itself into the sea. 

Historians speak of (Echalia, the city of Eurytus, as exist- 
ing in these parts, in Euboea also, and in Arcadia ; but some 
give it one name, others another, as I have said in the de- 
scription of Peloponnesus. 

They inquire particularly, which of these was the city 
taken by Hercules, and which was the city intended by the 
author of the poem, " The Capture of CEchalia ? " 

The places, however, were subject to the Asclepiadae. 

18. The poet next mentions the country which was under 
the dominion of Eurypylus ; 

" They who possessed Ormeiiium and the spring Hypereia, 

And they who occupied Asterium and the white peaks of Titanus." ' 

Ormenium is now called Orminium. It is a village situ- 
ated below Pelion, near the Pagasitic Gulf, but was one of 
the cities which contributed to form the settlement of Deme- 
trias, as I have before said. 

The lake Boebeis must be near, because both Boebe and 
Ormenium belonged to the cities lying around Demetrias. 

Ormenium is distant by land 2? stadia from Demetrias. 
The site of lolcus, which is on the road, is distant 7 stadia 
from Demetrias, and the remaining 20 from Ormenium. 

Demetrius of Scepsis says, that Phcenix came from Or- 
menium, and that he fled thence from his father Amyntor, 
the son of Ormenus, to Phthia, to king Peleus. For this place 
was founded by Ormenus, the son of Cercaphus, the son of 
>(Eolus. The sons of Ormenus w^ere Amyntor and Euaemon ; 
the son of the former was Phoenix, and of the latter, Eurypy- 
lus. The succession to his possessions was preserved secure 
for Eurypylus, after the departure of Phoenix from his home, 
and we ought to write the verse of the poet in this manner : 

> II. ii. 734. 



B. IX. c. V. § 18, 19. THESSALY. 143 

"as when I first left Ormenium, abounding with flocks," ^ 
instead of 

" left Hellas, abounding with beautiful women." 
But Crates makes Phoenix a Phocasan, conjecturing tliis 
from the helmet of Meges, which Ulysses wore on the night 
expedition ; of which helmet the poet says, 

" Autolycus brought it away from Eleon, out of the house of Amyntor, 
the son of Ormenus, having broken through the thick walls. "^ 

Now Eleon was a small city on Parnassus, and by Amyn- 
tor, the son of Ormenus, he could not mean any other person 
than the father of Phoenix, and that Autolycus, who lived on 
Parnassus, was in the habit of digging through the houses of 
his neighbours, which is the common practice of every house- 
breaker, and not of persons living at a distance. But Deme- 
trius the Scepsian says, that there is no such place on Par- 
nassus as Eleon, but Neon, which was built after the Trojan 
war, and that digging through houses was not confined to 
robbers of the neighbourhood. Other things might be ad- 
vanced, but I am unwilling to insist long on this subject. 
Others write the words 

"fromHeleon;" 
but this is a Tanagrian town ; and the words 

" Then far away I fled through Hellas and came to Phthia,"' 
would make this passage absurd. 

Hypereia is a spring in the middle of the city of the Phe- 
raei [subject to Eumelus]. It would therefore be absurd [to 
assign it to Eurypylus]. 

Titanus'* had its name from the accident of its colour, for 
the soil of the country near Arne and [ Aphe]tse is white, and 
Asterium is not far from these places. 

19. Continuous with this portion of Thessaly are the peo- 
ple subject to Polypoetes. 

" They who possessed Argissa ; those who inhabited Gyrtone,* 
Orthe, Elone, and the white city Oloosson."^ 

This country was formerly inhabited by Perrhaebi, who 

» II. ix. 447. ' II. X. 226. ^ n ix. 424. 

* TiTavog, chalk. * Tcheritchiano. 

« II. ii. 738. 



144 STRABO. Casaub. 439. 

possessed the part towards the sea and the Peneius, as far as ^ 
its mouth and the city Gyrton, belonging to the district Per- 
rhasbis. Afterwards the Lapithae, Ixion and his son Peiri- 
thous, having reduced the PerrhaBbi,^ got possession of these 
places. Peirithous took possession also of Pelion, having ex- 
pelled by force the Centaurs, a savage tribe, who inhabited 
it. These 

" he drove from Pelion to the neighbourhood of the -^thices, ' ' 

but he delivered up the plains to the Lapithae. The Perrhsebi 
kept possession of some of these parts, those, namely, towards 
Olympus, and in some places they lived intermixed altogether 
with the Lapithse. 

Argissa, the present Argura, is situated upon the banks of 
the Peneius. Atrax lies above it at the distance of 40 stadia,, 
close to the river. The intermediate country along the side 
of the river was occupied by Perrhaebi. 

Some call Orthe the citadel of the Phalannaei. Phalanna 
is a Perrhaebic city on the Peneius, near Tempe. 

The Perrha2bi, oppressed by the Lapithae, retreated in great 
numbers to the mountainous country about Pindus, and to the 
Athamanes and Dolopes ; but the Larisaei became masters of 
the country and of the Perrhaibi who remained there. The 
Larissei lived near the Peneius, but in the neighbourhood of 
the Perrhaebi. They occupied the most fertile portion of the 
plains, except some of the very deep valleys near the lake 
Nessonis, into which the river, when it overflowed, usually 
carried away a portion of the arable ground belonging to the 
Larisaei, who afterwards remedied this by making embank- 
ments. 

These people were in possession of Perrhsebia, and levied 
imposts until Philip became master of the country. 

Larisa is a place situated on Ossa, and there is Larisa 
Cremaste, by some called Pelasgia. In Crete also is a city 
Larisa, the inhabitants of which were embodied with those of 
Hierapytna ; and from this place the plain below is called the 
Larisian plain. In Peloponnesus the citadel of the Argives is 

' Meineke suggests the reading fiSTa^v, between, instead of /xsxpi, as 
far as. 

^ The words after Perrhaebi, eig rrfv Iv ry jxeffoyai^ TroTafiiav, into the 
country in the interior lying along the river, are omitted, as suggested 
by Meineke. ^ II. ii. 744. 



B. IX. c. V. J 20. THESSALY. 145 

called Larisa, and there is a river Larisus, which separates 
Eleia from Dyme. Theopompus mentions a city Larisa, situ- 
ated on the immediate confines of this country. In Asia is 
Larisa Phriconis near Cume, and another Larisa near Hamax- 
itus, in the Troad. There is also an Ephesian Larisa, and a 
Larisa in Syria. At 50 stadia from Mitylene are the Lari- 
scean rocks, on the road to Methymne. There is a Larisa in 
Attica ; and a village of this name at the distance of 30 stadia 
from Tralleis, situated above the city, on the road to the plain 
of the Cayster, passing by Mesogis towards the temple of 
Mater Isodroma. This Larisa has a similar position, and 
possesses similar advantages to those of Larisa Cremaste ; for 
it has abundance of water and vineyards. Perhaps Jupiter 
had the appellation of Larisseus from this place. There is 
also on the left side of the Pontus (Euxine) a village called 
Larisa, near the extremities of Mount Haemus, between Nau- 
lochus [and Odessus].^ 

Oloosson, called the White, from its chalky soil, Elone, and 
Gonnus are Perrhasbic cities. The name of Elone was changed 
to that of Leimone. It is now in ruins. Both lie at the foot 
of Olympus, not very far from the river Eurotas, which the 
poet calls Titaresius. 

20. The poet speaks both of this river and of the Per- 
rhgebi in the subsequent verses, when he says, 

" Gimeus brought from Cyphus two and twenty vessels. His followers 
were Enienes and Perasbi, firm in batlle. They dwelt near the wintry 
Dodona, and tilled the fields abont the lovely Titaresius." ^ 

He mentions therefore these places as belonging to the Per- 
rhaebi, which comprised a part of the Hestiaeotis.^ They were 
in part Perrhsebic towns, which were subject to Polypoetes. 
He assigned them however to the Lapithse, because these 
people and the Perrhaebi lived intermixed together, and the 
Lapithse occupied the plains. The country, which belonged 
to the Perrhasbi, was, for the most part, subject to the La- 
pithse, but the Perrhaebi possessed the more mountainous 
tracts towards Olympus and Tempe, such as Cyphus, Dodone, 
and the country about the river Titaresius. This river rises 

^ Groskurd suggests the insertion here of Messembria or Odessus. 
Kramer is inclined to adopt the latter. 
* 11. ii. 748. 3 Or Pelasgiotis. Groskurd. 

VOL. II. L 



146 STRABO. Casaub. 441- 

in the mountain Titarius, which is part of Olympus. It flows 
into the plain near Tempe belonging to Perrhaebia, and some- 
where there enters the Peneius. 

The water of the Peneius is clear, that of the Titaresius 
is unctuous ; a property arising from some matter, which 
prevents the streams mingling with each other, 

" but runs over the surface like oil." * 

Because the Perrhaebi and Lapithae lived intermingled to- 
gether, Simonides calls all those people Pelasgiotaj, who oc- 
cupy the eastern parts about Gyrton and the mouths of the 
Peneius, Ossa, Pelion, and the country about Demetrias, and 
the places in the plain, Larisa, Crannon, Scotussa, Mopsium, 
Atrax, and the parts near the lakes Nessonis and Boebeis. 
The poet mentions a few only of these places, either because 
they were not inhabited at all, or badly inhabited on account 
of the inundations which had happened at various times. 
For the poet does not mention even the lake Nessonis, but the 
Boebeis only, which is much smaller, for its water remained 
constant, and this alone remains, while the former probably 
was at one time filled irregularly to excess, and at another 
contained no water. 

We have mentioned Scotussa in our accounts of Dodona, 
and of the oracle, in Thessaly, when' we observed that it was 
near Scotussa. Near Scotussa is a tract called Cynoscephalai. 
It was here that the Romans with their allies the ^tolians, and 
their general Titus Quintius, defeated in a great battle Philip, 
son of Demetrius, king of Macedon. 

21. Something of the same kind has happened in the terri- 
tory of Magnetis. For Homer having enumerated many 
places of this country, calls none of them Magnetes, but those 
only whom he indicates in terms obscure, and not easily un- 
derstood ; 

" They who dwelt about Peneius and Pelion with waving woods."' 

Now about the Peneius and Pelion dwell those (already 
mentioned by Homer) who occupied Gyrton, and Ormenium, 
and many other nations. At a still greater distance from 
Pelion, according to later writers, were Magnetes, begin- 
ning from the people, that were subject to Eumelus. These 

» II. ii. 754 « II. ii. 756. 



B. IX. c. V. § 22. THESSALY. 147 

writers, on account of the continual removals from one settle- 
ment to another, alterations in the forms of government, and 
intermixture of races, seem to confound both names and na- 
tions, which sometimes perplexes persons in these times, as is 
first to be observed in the instances of Crannon and Gyrton. 

Formerly thej called the Gyrtonians Phlegyae, from 
Phlegyas, the brother of Ixion ; and the Crannonii, Ephyri, so 
that there is a doubt, when the poet says, 

" These two from Thrace appeared with breastplates armed against 
Ephyri, or haughty Phlegyae,"^ 

what people he meant. 

22. The same is the case with the Perrhasbi and ^nianes, 
for Homer joins them together, as if they dwelt near each 
other ; and it is said by later writers, that, for a long period, 
the settlement of the JEnianes was in the Dotian plain. Now 
this plain is near Perrhsebia, which we have just mentioned, 
Ossa, and the lake Boebeis : it is situated about the middle of 
Thessaly,but enclosed by itself within hills. Hesiod speaks of 
it in this manner ; 

" Or, as a pure virgin, who dwells on the sacred heights of the Twin hills, 
conaes to the Dotian plain, in front of Amyrus, abounding with vines, to 
bathe her feet in the lake Boebias." 

The greater part of the jEnianes were expelled by the Lapithae, 
and took refuge in QCta, where they established their power, 
having deprived the Dorians and the Malienses of some por- 
tions of country, extending as far as Heracleia and Echinus. 
Some of them however remained about Cyphus, a Perrhasbic 
mountain, where is a settlement of the same name. As to the 
Perrhasbi, some of them collected about the western parts of 
Olympus and settled there, on the borders of the Macedonians. 
But a large body took shelter among the mountains near 
Athamania, and Pindus. But at present few, if any, traces 
of them are to be found. 

The Magnetes, who are mentioned last in the Thessalian 
catalogue of the poet, must be understood to be those situated 
within Tempe, extending from the Peneius and Ossa to Pe- 
lion, and bordering upon the Pieriotae in Macedonia, who oc- 
cupy the country on the other side the Peneius as far as 
the sea. 

Homolium, or Homole, (for both words are in use,) must 

» II. xiii. 301. 
L 2 



148 STRABO. Casaub. 443 

be assigned to the Magnetes. I have said in the description 
of Macedonia, that Homolium is near Ossa at the beginning 
of the course which the Peneius takes through Tempe. 

If we are to extend their possessions as far as the sea-coast, 
which is very near Homolium, there is reason for assigning to 
them Rhizus, and Erymnae, which lies on the sea-coast in the 
tract subject to Philoctetes and Eumelus. Let this however 
remain unsettled. For the order in which the places as lar as 
the Peneius follow one another, is not clearly expressed, and 
as the places are not of any note, we need not consider that 
uncertainty as very important. The coast of Sepias, however, 
is mentioned by tragic writers, and was chaunted in songs on 
account of the destruction of the Persian fleet. It consists of 
a chain of rocks. 

Between Sepias and Casthanaea, a village situated below 
Pelion, is the sea-shore, where the fleet of Xerxes was lying, 
when an east wind began to blow violently ; some of the ves- 
sels were forced on shore, and immediately went to pieces ; 
others were driven on Hipnus, a rocky spot near Pelion, 
others were lost at Meliboea, others at Casthanaea. 

The whole of the coasting voyage along Pelion, to the ex- 
tent of about 80 stadia, is among rocks. That along Ossa is 
of the same kind and to the same extent. 

Between them is a bay of more than 200 stadia in extent, 
upon which is situated Meliboea. 

The whole voyage from Demetrias, including the winding 
of the bays, to the Peneius is more than 1000 stadia, from the 
Spercheius 800 stadia more, and from the Euripus 2350 
stadia. 

Hieronymus assigns a circuit of 3000 stadia to the plain 
country in Thessaly and Magnesia, and says, that it was in- 
habited by Pelasgi, but that these people were driven into 
Italy by Lapithse, and that the present Pelasgic plain is that 
in which are situated Larisa, Gyrton, Pherse, Mopsium, Boe- 
beis, Ossa, Homole, Pelion, and Magnetis. Mopsium has not 
its name from Mopsus, the son of Manto the daughter of 
Teiresias, but from Mopsus, one of the Lapithas, who sailed 
with the Argonauts. Mopsopus, from whom Attica is called 
Mopsopia, is a different person. 

23. This then is the account of the several parts of Thes- 
saly. 



B. IX. c. V. § 23. THESSALY. 149 

In general we say, that it was formerly called Pyrrhaea, 
from Pyrrha, the wife of Deucalion ; Hasmonia, from Haemon ; 
and Thettalia, from Thettalus, the son of Haemon. But some 
writers, after dividing it into two portions, say, that Deucalion 
obtained by lot the southern part, and called it Pandora, from 
his mother ; that the other fell to the share of Haemon, from 
whom it was called Haemonia ; that the name of one part was 
changed to Hellas, from Hellen, the son of Deucalion, and of 
the other to Thettalia, from Thettalus, the son of Haemon. 
But, according to some writers, it was the descendants of An- 
tiphus and Pheidippus, sons of Thettalus, descended from 
Hercules, who invaded the country from Ephyra in Thes- 
protia, and called it after the name of Thettalus their pro- 
genitor. It has been already said that once it had the name 
of Nessonis, as well as the lake, from Nesson, the son of 
Thettalus. 



BOOK X. 
GREECE. 

SUMMARY. 

The Tenth Book contains JEtolia and the neighhouring islands ; also the 
whole of Crete, on which the author dwells some time in narrating the 
institutions of the islanders and of the Curetes. He describes at length 
the origin of the Tdaean Dactyli in Crete, their customs and religious 
rites. Strabo mentions the connexion of his own family with Crete, The 
Book contains an account of the numerous islands about Crete, including 
the Sporades and some of the Cyclades. 

CHAPTER I. 

1. Since Euboea^ stretches along the whole of this coast 
from Sunium to Thessalj, except the extremity on each side,^ 
it may be convenient to connect the description of this island 
with that of Thessaly. We shall then pass on to ^tolia and 
Acarnania, parts of Europe of which it remains to give an 
account. 

2. The island is oblong, and extends nearly 1200 stadia 
from Cenaeum^ to Geraestus.'* Its greatest breadth is about 
150 stadia, but it is irregular.^ 

* In the middle ages Euboea was called Egripo, a corruption of Euri- 
pus, the name of the town built upon the ruins of Chalcis. The Veneti- 
ans, who obtained possession of the island upon the dismemberment of the 
Byzantine empire by the Latins, called it Negropont, probably a corrup- 
tion of Egripo and Ponte, a bridge. Smith. 

2 This expression is obscure ; probably it may mean that Euboea is 
not equal in length to the coast comprehended between Sunium and the 
southern limits of Thessaly. 

^ C. Lithada. The mountain Lithada above the cape, rises to the 
height of 2837 feet above the sea. 

* C.Mantelo. 

* The real length of the island from N. to S. is about 90 miles, its ex- 
treme breadth is 30 miles, but in one part it is not more than 4 miles 
across. See Smith art. Euboea. 



B. X. c. I. § 3. NEGROPONT. 151 

Cenagum is opposite to Thermopjlae, and in a small degree 
to the parts beyond Thermopylas : Geraestus ^ and Petalia ^ are 
opposite to Sunium. 

Euboea then fronts ^ Attica, Boeotia, Locris, and the Mali- 
enses. From its narrowness, and its length, which we have 
mentioned, it was called by the ancients Macris.'* 

It approaches nearest to the continent at Chalcis. It pro- 
jects with a convex bend towards the places in Boeotia near 
Aulis, and forms the Euripus,^ of which we have before 
spoken at length. We have also mentioned nearly all the 
places on either side of the Euripus, opposite to each other 
across the strait, both on the continent and on the island. If 
anything is omitted we shall now give a further explanation. 

And first, the parts lying between Aulis (Chalcis ?) and 
the places about Geraestus are called the Hollows of Euboea, 
for the sea-coast swells into bays, and, as it approaches Chal- 
cis, juts out again towards the continent. 

3. The island had the name not of Macris only, but of 
Abantis also. The poet in speaking of Euboea never calls the 
inhabitants from the name of the island, Euboeans, but always 
Abantes ; 

"they who possessed Euboea, the resolute Abantes;"® 
" in his train Abantes were following." 

Aristotle says that Thracians, taking their departure from 
Aba, the Phocian city, settled with the other inhabitants in 
the island, and gave the name of Abantes to those who al- 
ready occupied it ; other writers say that they had their name 
from a hero,*^ as that of Euboea was derived from a heroine.^ 
But perhaps as a certain cave on the sea-coast fronting the 

' Cape Mantelo. 

^ Strabo is the only ancient author who describes a place of this name 
as existing in Euboea. Kiepert and the Austrian map agree in giving the 
name Petaliae, which may here be meant, to the Spill islands. 

^ avTiTTopOnog. 

* Euboea has various names. Formerly (says Pliny, h. iv. c. 12) it 
was called Chalcedontis or Macris, according to Dionysius and Ephorus ; 
Macra, according to Aristides ; Chalcis, from brass being there first dis- 
covered, according to Callidemus; Abantias, according to Menaechmus ; 
and Asopis by the poets in general. 

' The narrow channel between the island and the mainland. 

« II. ii. 536, 542. 

^ From Abas, great grandson of Erectheus. 

* From Euboea, daughter of the river Asopus and mistress of Neptune . 



152 STRABO. Casaub. 445. 

^gean Sea is called Boos-Aule, (or the Cow's Stall,) where 
lo is said to have brought forth Epaphus, so the island may 
have had the name Euboja^ on this account. 

It was also called Oche, which is the name of one of the 
largest mountains^ there. 

It had the name of Ellopia, from Ellops, the son of Ion ; 
according to others, he was the brother of -^clus, and Co- 
thus, who is said to have founded Ellopia,^ a small place 
situated in the district called Oria of the Histi^eotis, near the 
mountain Telethrius.^ He also possessed Histiaea, Perias, 
Cerinthus, ^depsus,^ and Orobioe, where was an oracle very 
free from deception. There also was an oracle of Apollo 
Selinuntius. 

The Ellopians, after the battle of Leuctra, were compelled 
by the tyrant Philistides to remove to the city Histiasa, and 
augmented the number of its inhabitants. Demosthenes^ 
says that Philistides was appointed by Philip tyrant of the 
Oreitae also, for afterwards tlie Histiasans had that name, and 
the city, instead of Histisea, was called Oreus. According to 
some writers, Histiaea was colonized by Athenians from the 
demus of the Histiaeeis, as Eretria was from the demus of the 
Eretrieis. But Theopompus says, that when Pericles had re- 
duced Euboea, the Histiaeans agreed to remove into Mace- 
donia, and that two thousand Athenians, who formerly com- 
posed the demus of the Histiaeans, came, and founded Oreus.^ 

4. It is situated below Mount Telethrius, at a place called 
Drymus, near the river Callas, on a lofty rock;^ whence 
perhaps because the Ellopians, the former inhabitants, were a 
mountain tribe,^ the city had the name of Oreus. Orion, who 
was brought up there, seems to have had his name from the 
place. But according to some writers, the Oreitae, who had a 

' From ev, well, and (3ovq, a cow. The ancient coins of the island 
bear the head of an ox. 

^ Mount St. EUas, 4748 feet above the level of the sea. Bochart de- 
rives the name from an eastern word signifying " narrow." 

^ At the base of Ploko Vuno. 

* Mount Galzades, celebrated for producing medicinal plants. Theo- 
phrastus, Hist. Plant, b. ix. c. 15 and 20. 

* Dipso, according to Kiepert. 
^ Philipp. iii. 

^ Not the town named Histiaea-Oreus, which was on the sea-coast. 

* Livy, b. xxxi. c. 46. * did to opeiovg elvai. 



B. X. c. I. ^ 5—7. NEGROPONT. 1^^3 

city of their own, being attacked by the Ellopians, migrated, 
and settled with the Histiaeans, and although it was a single 
city it had both appellations, as Lacedaemon and Sparta were 
the same city. We have said, that the Histiaeotis in Thes- 
saly had its name from the people who were carried away 
from this country by the Perrhaebi. 

5. As EUopia induced us to commence our description 
with Histiaea and Oreus, we shall proceed with the places con- 
tinuous with these. 

The promontory Cenaeum is near Oreus, and on the pro- 
montory is situated Dium,^ and Athenae Diades, a town 
founded by Athenians, and overlooks the passage across the 
strait to Cynus. Canag in -.^olia received colonists from 
Dium. These places are situated near Histiaea, and besides 
these Cerinthus, a small city, close to the sea. Near it is a 
river Budorus, of the same name as the mountain in Salamis 
on the side of Attica, 

6. Carystus^ lies at the foot of the mountain Oche, and 
near it are Styra ^ and Marmarium,'* where is a quarry, from 
which are obtained the Carystian columns. It has a temple 
of Apollo Marmarinus, where there is a passage across to 
Halae-Araphenides. At Carystus there is found in the earth 
a stone,^ which is combed like wool, and woven, so that nap- 
kins are made of this substance, which, when soiled, are 
thrown into the fire, and cleaned, as in the washing of linen.^ 
These places are said to be inhabited by colonists from the 
Tetrapolis of Marathon, and by Steirieis. Styra was de- 
stroyed in the Mahac (Lamiac ?) war by Phaedrus, the general 
of the Athenians. But the Eretrians are in possession of the 
territory. There is also a Carystus in Laconia, a place be- 
longing to -^gys, towards Arcadia ; from whence comes the 
Carystian wine, spoken of by Alcman. 

7. Geraestus'^ is not mentioned by Homer in the Catalogue 
of the Ships ; it is however mentioned by him elsewhere ; 

' Kiepert accordingly places Dium near the modern Jaitra, but the 
Austrian map places it to the N, E. of Ploko Vuno. 

^ Castel Rosso. The landing-place of the Persian expedition under 
Datis and Artaphernes, b. c. 490. Herod, b. vi. c. 99. 

3 Sturae. 

* The ruins are indicated as existing opposite the Spili islands. 

^ XiQoQ cpvtTai. '' ry tud/ Xivwv TrXvati. ^ C. Mantelo. 



154 STRABO. Casaub. 447. 

" The vessels came to Gersestus by night ; " ^ 
which shows, that the place being near Sunium lies conveni- 
ently for persons who cross from Asia to Attica. It has a 
temple of Neptune the most remarkable of any in that 
quarter, and a considerable number of inhabitants. 

8. Next to Geraestus is Eretria, which, after Chalcis, is the 
largest city in Euboea. Next follows Chalcis, the capital as 
it were of the island, situated immediately on the Euripus. 
Both these cities are said to have been founded by Athenians 
before the Trojan war ; [but it is also said that] after the 
Trojan war, -^clus and Cothus took their departure from 
Athens ; the former to found Eretria, and Cothus, Chalcis. 
A body of Cohans who belonged to the expedition of Pen- 
thilus remained in the island. Anciently, even Arabians ^ 
settled there, who came over with Cadmus. 

These cities, Eretria and Chalcis, when their population 
was greatly augmented, sent out considerable colonies to Ma- 
cedonia, for Eretria founded cities about Pallene and Mount 
Athos ; Chalcis founded some near Olynthus, which Philip 
destroyed. There are also many settlements in Italy and 
Sicily, founded by Chalcidians. These colonies were sent 
out, according to Aristotle,^ when the government of the 
Hippobatae, (or Knights,) as it is called, was established ; it 
was an aristocratical government, the heads of which held 
their office by virtue of the amount of their property. At 
the time that Alexander passed over into Asia, they enlarged . 
the compass of the walls of their city, including within them 
Canethus,'* and the Euripus, and erected towers upon the 
bridge, a wall, and gates. 

9. Above the city of the Chalcidians is the plain called 
Lelantum, in which are hot springs, adapted to the cure of 
diseases, and which were used by Cornelius Sylla, the Roman 
general. There was also an extraordinary mine which pro- 
duced both copper and iron ; such, writers say, is not to be 
found elsewhere. At present, however, both are exhausted. 

1 Od. iii. 177. 

^ As this statement is unsupported by any other authority, Meineke 
suggests that the word Arabians ("ApaJSeg oi) is an error for Aradii 
('ApddLoi). 

^ Repub. b. iv. c. 3. 

* According to the Scholiast in Apollon. Rhod. Argon, b. i. v. 77, 
Canethus was a mountain on the Boeotian side of the Euripus. 



B. X. c. I. § 10. NEGROPONT. 155 

The whole of Euboea is subject to earthquakes, especially 
the part near the strait. It is also exposed to violent subter- 
raneous blasts, like Boeotia, and other places of which I have 
before spoken at length.^ The city of the same name as the 
island is said to have been swallowed up by an earthquake.^ 
It is mentioned by -^schylus in his tragedy of Glaucus 
Pontius ; 

" Eubois near the bending shore of Jupiter Ceneeus, close to the tomb of 
the wretched Lichas." 

There is also in ^tolia a town of the name of Chalcis, 

" Chalcis on the sea-coast, and the rocky Calydon," ' 

and another in the present Eleian territory ; 

" they passed along Cruni, and the rocky Chalcis," * 

speaking of Telemachus and his companions, when they left 
Nestor to return to their own country. 

10. Some say, that the Eretrians were a colony from Ma- 
cistus in Triphylia, under the conduct of Eretrieus ; others, 
that they came from Eretria, in Attica, where now a market 
is held. There is an Eretria also near Pharsalus. In 
the Eretrian district there was a city, Tamynae, sacred to 
Apollo. The temple (which was near the strait) is said to 
have been built by Admetus, whom the god, according to 
report, served a year^ for hire. 

Eretria,^ formerly, had the names of Melaneis and Arotria. 
The village Amarynthus, at the distance of 7 stadia from the 
walls, belongs to it. 

The Persians razed the ancient city, having enclosed with 
multitudes the inhabitants, according to the expression of 
Herodotus,*^ in a net, by spreading the Barbarians around the 
walls. The foundations are still shown, and the place is 
called ancient Eretria. The present city is built near it. 

The power which the Eretrians once possessed, is evinced 
by a pillar which was placed in the temple of Diana Ama- 
rynthia. There is an inscription on it to this elFect, that their 
processions upon their public festivals consisted of three 
thousand heavy-armed soldiers, six hundred horsemen, and 

» B. i. c. iii. § 16. « B. ix. c. ii. § 13. ^ jj [[ 540. 

* Od, XV. 295. * iviavTov for avrov. Meineke. 

« Near Palseo-castro. "* Herod, b. iii. c. 149, and b. vi. c. 101. 



156 STRABO. Casaub. 448. 

sixty chariots. They were masters, besides other islands, of 
Andros, Tenos, and Ceos. They received colonists from 
Elis, whence their frequent use of the letter R, (p,)* not only 
at the end, but in the middle of words, which exposed them 
to the raillery of comic writers. 

OEchalia,^ a village, the remains of a city destroyed by 
Hercules, belongs to the district of Eretria. It has the same 
name as that in Trachinia, as that near Tricca,^ as that in 
Arcadia, (which later writers call Andania,) and as that in 
-^tolia near the Eurytanes. 

11. At present Chalcis'* is allowed, without dispute, to hold 
the first rankj and is called the capital of the Euboeans. 
Eretria holds the second place. Even in former times these 
cities had great influence both in war and peace, so that 
they afforded to philosophers an agreeable and tranquil re- 
treat. A proof of this is the establishment at Eretria of the 
school of Eretrian philosophers, disciples of Menedemus ; and 
at an earlier period the residence of Aristotle^ at Chalcis, 
where he also died. 

12. These cities generally lived in harmony with each 
other, and when a dispute arose between them respecting 
Lelantum, they did not even then suspend all intercourse so as 
to act in war entirely without regard to each other, but they 
agreed upon certain conditions, on which the war was to be 
conducted. This appears by a column standing in the Ama- 
rynthium, which interdicts the use of missiles. [For with 
respect to warlike usages and armour, there neither is nor 
was any common usage; for some nations employ soldiers 
who use missile weapons, such as bows, slings, and javelins ; 
others employ men who engage in close fight, and use a 
sword, or charge with a spear.^ For there are two methods 
of using the spear ; one is to retain it in the hand ; the other, 
to hurl it like a dart; the pike' answers both purposes, for it 
is used in close encounter and is hurled to a distance. The 
sarissa and the hyssus are similarly made use of.] ^ 

* A common practice of the Dorians. 

*■' B. viii. c. iii. § 6. 'In Thessaly. 

* Negropont. It was one of the three cities which Philip of Macedon 
called the chains of Greece. Brass {xaXKog) was said to have been first 
found there. 

* He retired there b. c. 322. ^ dopv. ' Kovrbg. 

* ri (rdpiaoa Kai 6 vaabg. Probably an interpolation. Groskurd. 



B. X. c. I. § 13-15. NEGROPONT. 157 

13. The Euboeans excelled in standing^ figlit, which was 
also called close fight,^ and fight hand to hand.^ They used 
spears extended at length according to the words of the poet ; 

"warriors eager to break through breastplates with extended ashen 
spears." * 

The missile weapons were perhaps of different kinds, as, pro- 
bably, was the ashen spear of Pelion, which, as the poet says, 

*' Achilles alone knew how to hurl."' 
When the poet says, 
" I strike farther with a spear than any other person with an arrow," * 

he means with a missile spear. They, too, who engage in 
single combat, are first introduced as using missile spears, and 
then having recourse to swords. But they who engage in 
single combat do not use the sword only, but a spear also held 
in the hand, as the poet describes it, 

" he wounded him with a polished spear, pointed with brass, and un- 
braced his limbs." ^ 

He represents the Euboeans as fighting in this manner ; but 
he describes the Locrian mode as contrary to this ; 

" It was not their practice to engage in close fight, but they followed him 
to Ilium with their bows, clothed in the pliant fleece of the sheep."* 

An answer of an oracle is commonly repeated, which was re- 
turned to the ^gienses ; 

*• a Thessalian horse, a Lacedaemonian woman, and the men who drink 
the water of the sacred Arethusa," 

meaning the Chalcideans as superior to all other people, for 
Arethusa belongs to them. 

14. At present the rivers of Euboea are the Cereus and 
Neleus. The cattle which drink of the water of the former 
become white, and those that drink of the water of the latter 
become black. We have said that a similar effect is produced 
by the water of the Crathis.^ 

15. As some of the Euboeans, on their return from Troy, 
were driven out of their course among the Illyrians ; pursued 
their journey homewards through Macedonia, and stopped in 
the neighbourhood of Edessa ; having assisted the people in a 
war, who had received them hospitably ; they founded a city, 

• fiax,T]v TTjv &TaSiav. ' (rvoTaSrjv. ' tK ^etpoc;. 

* II. ii. 543. 5 II. xix. 389. ^ Qd. viii. 229. 

' 11. IV. 469. 8 II. xiii. 713, 716. » B. vi. c i. § 13. 



158 STRABO. Casaub. 450. 

Euboea. There was a Euboea in Sicily, founded by the 
Chalcideans, who were settled there. It was destroyed by 
Gelon, and became a strong-hold of the Syracusans. In Cor- 
cyra also, and at Lemnus, there was a place called Euboea, and 
a hill of this name in the Argive territory. 

16. We have said, that ^tolians, Acarnanians, and Atha- 
manes are situated to the west of the Thessalians and CEtag- 
ans, if indeed we must call the Athamanes,^ Greeks. It re- 
mains, in order that we may complete the description of 
Greece, to give some account of these people, of the islands 
which lie nearest to Greece, arid are inhabited by Greeks, 
which we have not yet mentioned. 



CHAPTER 11. 



1. -^TOLiANS and Acarnanians border on one another, 
having between them the river Achelous,^ which flows from 
the north, and from Pindus towards the south, through the 
country of the Agraei, an JEtolian tribe, and of the Amphi- 
lochians. 

Acarnanians occupy the western side of the river as far as 
the Ambracian Gulf,^ opposite to the Amphilochians, and the 
temple of Apollo Actius. ^tolians occupy the part towards 
the east as far as the Locri Ozolae, Parnassus, and the CEtseans. 

Amphilochians are situated above the Acarnanians in the 
interior towards the north; above the Amphilochians are 
situated Dolopes, and Mount Pindus ; above the ^tolians 
are Perrhasbi, Athamanes, and a body of the ^nianes who 
occupy (Eta. 

The southern side, as well the Acarnanian as the ^tolian, 
is washed by the sea, forming the Corinthian Gulf, into which 
the Achelous empties itself. This river (at its mouth) is the 
boundary of the -.^tolian and the Acarnanian coast. The 
Achelous was formerly called Thoas. There is a river of 
this name near Dyme,^ as we have said, and another near 
Lamia.^ We have also said,^ that the mouth qf this river is 

' B. viii. c. vii. § 1. * The Aspropotamo. ^ G. of Arta. 

* B. viii. c. iii. § 11. ^ B. ix. c. v. § 10. « B. viii. c. ii. § 3. 



B. X. c. II. § 2, 3. ^TOLIA. ACARNANIA. 159 

considered by some writers as the commencement of the Cor- 
inthian Gulf. 

2. The cities of the Acarnanians are, Anactorium, situated 
upon a peninsula^ near Actium, and a mart of Nicopolis, 
which has been built in our time ; Stratus,^ to which vessels 
sail up the Achelous, a distance of more than 200 stadia ; and 
CEniadas^ is also on the banks of the river. The ancient 
city is not inhabited, and lies at an equal distance from the 
sea and from Stratus. The present city is at the distance of 
70 stadia above the mouth of the river. 

There are also other cities, Palaerus,* Alyzia,^ Leucas,^ the 
Amphilochian Argos,*^ and Ambracia:^ most of these, if not 
all, are dependent upon Nicopolis. 

Stratus lies half-way between Alyzia and Anactorium.^ 

3. To the ^tolians belong both Calydon ^^ and Pleuron, 
which at present are in a reduced condition, but, anciently, 
these settlements were an ornament to Greece. 

^tolia was divided into two portions, one called the 
Old, the other the Epictetus (the Acquired). The Old com- 
prised the sea-coast from the Achelous as far as Calydon, ex- 
tending far into the inland parts, which are fertile, and consist 
of plains. Here are situated Stratus and Trichonium, which 
has an excellent soil. The Epictetus, that reaches close to 
the Locri in the direction of Naupactus*^ and Eupaliura,^^ 

^ The promontory bears the name C. Madonna, and the ruins of Anac- 
torium are pointed out as existing at the bottom of the small bay of Pre- 
vesa. The modern town, Azio, which is not the ancient Actium, is near 
these ruins. 

^ Near Lepenu. 

' Correction by Groskurd. Trigardon is given in the Austrian map as 
the ancient site of CEniadaB, but this position does not agree with the text. 

* Porto-fico according to D'Anville. 

^ Kandili, opposite the island Kalamo. 

6 Santa Maura. ^ Neochori. 

* Arta, but the Austrian map gives Rogus as the site. 

^ This is an error either of the author or in the text. Groskurd pro- 
poses to read Antirrhium (Castel Rumeli) in place of Anactorium. 
Kramer proposes to follow Tzschucke, and to exchange the positions of 
the words Stratus and Alyzia in the text. 

"* There has been some dispute respecting the site of Calydon. Leake 
supposes the ruins which he discovered at Kurtaga, or Kortaga, to the 
west of the Evenus, (Fidari,) to be those of Calydon. 

" Lepanto. 

" Leake supposes it to have stood in the plain of Marathia, opposite the 
island Trissonia. 



160 STRABO. Casatjb. 451. 

is a rugged and sterile tract, extending as far as QEtasa, to 
the territory of the Athamanes, and tlie mountains and na- 
tions following next in order, and which lie around towards 
the north. 

4. There is in ^tolia a very large mountain, the Corax,* 
which is contiguous to CEta.. Among the other mountains, 
more in the middle of the country, is the Aracynthus,^ near 
which the founders built the modern Pleuron, having aban- 
doned the ancient city situated near Calydon, which was in 
a fertile plain country, when Demetrius, surnamed ^tolicus, 
laid waste the district. 

Above Molycreia^ are Taphiassus^ and Chalcis,^ moun- 
tains of considerable height, on which are situated the small 
cities, Macynia and Chalcis, (having the same name as the 
mountain,) or, as it is also called, Hypochalcis. Mount Curium 
is near the ancient Pleuron, from which some supposed the 
Pleuronii had the appellation of Curetes. 

5. The river Evenus rises in the country of the Bomianses, 
a nation situated among the Ophienses, and an jEtolian tribe 
like the Eurytanes, Agraei, Curetes, and others. It does not 
flow, at its commencement, through the territory of the Cu- 
retes, which is the same as Pleuronia, but through the coun- 
try more towards the east along Chalcis and Calydon ; it then 
makes a bend backwards to the plains of the ancient Pleuron, 
and having changed its course to the west, turns again to the 
south, where it empties itself. It was formerly called Ly- 
cormas. There Nessus, who had the post of ferryman, is said 
to have been killed by Hercules for having attempted to force 
Deianeira while he was conveying her across the river. 

6. The poet calls Olenus and Pylene ^tolian cities, the 
former of which, of the same name as the Achaean city, was 
razed by the ^olians. It is near the new city Pleuron. 
The Acarnanians disputed the possession of the territory. 
They transferred Pylene to a higher situation, and changed 
its name to Proschium. Hellanicus was not at all acquainted 
with the history of these cities, but speaks of them as still ex- 
isting in their ancient condition, but Macynia and Molycria, 
which were built subsequent to the return of the Heracleidae, 

' M. Coraca. ^ M. Zigos. ' Xerolimne. 

* Kaki-scala. * Varassova. 



B. X. c. II. § 7, 8. LEUCAS. 161 

he enumerates among ancient cities, and shows the greatest 
carelessness in almost every part of his work. 

7. This, then, is the general account of the country of the 
Acarnanians and ^tolians. We must annex to this some 
description of the sea-coast and of the islands lying in front 
of it. 

If we begin from the entrance of the Ambracian Gulf, the 
first place we meet with in Acarnania is Actium. The temple 
of Apollo Actius has the same name as the promontory, which 
forms the entrance of the Gulf, and has a harbour on the 
outside. 

At the distance of 40 stadia from the temple is Anacto- 
rium, situated on the Gulf; and at the distance of 240 stadia 
is Leucas.^ 

8. This was, anciently, a peninsula belonging to the terri- 
tory of the Acarnanians. The poet calls it the coast of 
Epirus, meaning by Epirus the country on the other side of 
Ithaca,^ and Cephallenia,^ which country is Acarnania ; so 
that by the words of the poet, 

" the coast of Epirus," 
we must understand the coast of Acarnania. 

To Leucas also belonged Neritus, which Laertes said he 
took — 

" as when I was chief of the Cephallenians, and took Nericus, a well- 
built city, on the coast of Epirus,"* 

and the cities which he mentions in the Catalogue, 

" and they who inhabited Crocyleia, and the rugged jEgilips."* 

But the Corinthians who were despatched by Cypselus and 
Gorgus, obtained possession of this coast, and advanced as far 
as the Ambracian Gulf. Ambracia and Anactorium were 
both founded. They cut through the isthmus of the peninsula, 
converted Leucas into an island, transferred Neritus to the 
spot, which was once an isthmus, but is now a channel con- 
nected with the land by a bridge, and changed the name to 
Leucas from Leucatas, as I suppose, which is a white rock, 
projecting from Leucas into the sea towards Cephallenia, so 
that it might take its name from this circumstance. 

* Santa Maura. ' Theaki. ^ Cephalonia. 

* Od. xxiv. 376. » II. ii. 633. 

VOL. II. M 



162 STKABO. Casaub. 452. 

9. It has upon it the temple of Apollo Leucatas, and the 
Leap, which, it was thought, was a termination of love. 

"Here Sappho first 'tis said," (according to Menander,) "in pursuit of 
the haughty Phaon, and urged on by maddening desire, threw herself^ 
from the aerial rock, imploring Thee, Lord, and King." 

Menander then says that Sappho was the first who took the 
leap, but persons better acquainted with ancient accounts as- 
sert that it was Cephalus, who was in love with Pterelas, the 
son of Deioneus.2 It was also a custom of the country among 
the Leucadians at the annual sacrifice performed in honour of 
Apollo, to precipitate from the rock one of the condemned 
criminals, with a view to avert evil. Various kinds of wings 
were attached to him, and even birds were suspended from his 
body, to lighten by their fluttering the fall of the leap. Be- 
low many persons were stationed around in small fishing boats 
to receive, and to preserve his life, if possible, and to carry 
him beyond the boundaries of the country. The author of 
the Alcmaeonis says that Icarius, the father of Penelope, had 
two sons, Alyzeus, and Leucadius, who reigned after their 
father in Acarnania, whence Ephorus thinks that the cities 
were called after their names. 

10. At present those are called Cephallenians who inhabit 
Cephallenia. But Homer calls all those under the command 
of Ulysses by this name, among whom are the Acarnanians ; 
for when he says, 

" Ulysses led the Cephallenians, those who possessed Ithaca, and Neri- 

tum, waving with woods,"* 

(the remarkable mountain in this island ; so also, 

"they who came from Dulichium, and the sacred Echinades,"* 
for Dulichium itself was one of the Echinades ; and again, 

" Buprasium and Elis," ^ 
when Buprasium is situated in Elis ; and so, 

" they who inhabited Euboea, Chalcis, and Eretria,"^ 
when the latter places are in Euboea ; so again, 
" Trojans, Lycians, and Dardanians," ' 

' I follow the proposed reading, llXiJa for aXXd. 

^ Du Theil says, Strabo should have said " a daughter of Pterelas who 
was in love with Cephalus." See below, § 14. 

-' II. ii. 631. * II. ii. 625. ' II. ii. 615. 

6 II. ii. 536. ' II. viii. 173. 



B. X. c. II. § 10. CEPHALLENIA. 163 

and these also were Trojans): but after mentioning Neritum, 

he says, 

" and they who inhabited Crocyleia and rocky ^gilips, Zacynthus, Sa- 
mos, Epirus, and the country opposite to these islands ;" * 

he means by Epirus the country opposite to the islands, in- 
tending to include together with Leucas the rest of Acarnania, 
of which he says, 

" twelve herds, and as many flocks of sheep in Epirus," ^ 

because the district of Epirus (the Epirotis) extended an- 
ciently perhaps as far as this place, and was designated by the 
common name Epirus. 

The present Cephallenia he calls Samos, as when he says, 

" in the strait between Ithaca and the hilly Samos," ' 
he makes a distinction between places of the same name by an 
epithet, assigning the name not to the city, but to the island. 
For the island contains four cities, one of which, called Samos, 
or Same, for it had either appellation, bore the same name as 
the island. But when the poet says, 

" all the chiefs of the islands, Dulichium, Same, and the woody Zacyn- 
thus,"" 

he is evidently enumerating the islands, and cdls that Same 
which he had before called Samos. 

But Apollodorus at one time says that the ambiguity is re- 
moved by the epithet, which the poet uses, when he says, 

" and hilly Samos," 
meaning the island ; and at another time he pretends that we 
ought to write 

" Dulichium, and Samos," -' 

and not 

" Same," 

and evidently supposes that the city is called by either name, 
Samos or Same, but the island by that of Samos only. That 
the city is called Same is evident from the enumeration of 
the suitors from each city, where the poet says, 
" there are four and twenty from Same," * 
and from what is said about Ctimene, 

» 11. ii. 633. 2 od. xiv. 100. ' Od. iv. 671. 

* Od. i. 24G. » Od. xrl 249. 

M 2 



164 STRABO. Casaub. 454. 

" they afterwards gave her in marriage at Same." ^ 
There is reason in this. For the poet does not express 
himself distinctly either about Cephallenia, or Ithaca, or the 
other neighbouring places, so that both historians and com- 
mentators differ from one another. 

11. For instance, with respect to Ithaca, when the poet 
says, 
*' and they who possessed Ithaca, and Neritum with its waving woods,"^ 

he denotes by the epithet, that he means Neritum the moun- 
tain. In other passages he expressly mentions the mountain ; 

" I dwell at Ithaca, turned to the western sun ; where is a mountain, 
Neritum, seen from afar with its waving woods ; " ^ 

but whether he means the city, or the island, is not clear, at 
least from this verse ; 

" they who possessed Ithaca, and Neritum." 
Any one would understand these words in their proper sense 
to mean the city, as we speak of Athens, Lycabettus, Rhodes, 
Atabyris, Lacedaemon, and Taygetus, but in a poetical sense 
the contrary is implied. 

In the verses, 
" I dwell at Ithaca, turned to the western sun, in which is a mountain 
Neritum," 

the meaning is plain, because the mountain is on the island 
and not in the city ; and when he says, 

" we came from Ithaca situated under Neium,"* 
it is uncertain whether he means that Neium was the same as 
Neritum, or whether it is another, either mountain or place. 
[He, who writes Nericum for Neritum, or the reverse, is 
quite mistaken. For the poet describes the former as " waving 
with woods ;" the other as a " well-built city ;" one in Ithaca, 
the other on the sea-beach of Epirus.]^ 

12. But this line seems to imply some contradiction ; 
" it lies in the sea both low, and very high,"^ 
for x^ajjiaXri is low, and depressed, but Tvawireprarr) expresses 
great height, as he describes it in other passages, calling it 
Cranae, (or rugged,) and the road leading from the har- 
bour, as, 

» Od. XV. 366. 2 II, ii. 632. ' Od. ix. 21. " Od. iii. 81. 

* Probably interpolated. Kramer. « Od. ix. 25. 



B. X. c. II. § 12. ITHACA. 165 

" a rocky way through a woody spot," * 
and again, 

" for there is not any island in the sea exposed to the western sun,' and 
with good pastures, least of all Ithaca." ' 

The expression does imply contradictions, which admit how- 
ever of some explanation. They do not understand ^Qa/iaX^ 
to signify in that place " low," but its contiguity to the con- 
tinent, to which it approaches very close ; nor by TravvrrepTarri 
great elevation, but the farthest advance towards darkness, 
{irpog i^ofov,) that is, placed towards the north more than all 
the other islands, for this is what the poet means by " towards 
darkness," the contrary to which is towards the south, {rrpog 
voTor,) 

" the rest far off (dvevOe) towards the morning, and the sun."* 
For the word avevOe denotes " at a distance," and " apart," as 
if the other islands lay to the south, and more distant from the 
continent, but Ithaca near the continent and towards the north. 
That the poet designates the southern part (of the heavens) in 
this manner appears from these words, 

*' whether they go to the right hand, towards the morning and the sun, or 
to the left, towards cloudy darkness;" * 

and still more evidently in these lines, 

" my friends, we know not where darkness nor where morning lie, nor 
where sets nor where rises the sun which brings light to man." ^ 

We may here understand the four climates,*^ and suppose the 
morning to denote the southern part (of the heavens), and 
this has some probability ; but it is better to consider what 
is near to the path of the sun to be opposite to the northern 
part (of the heavens). For the speech in Homer is intended 
to indicate some great change in the celestial appearances, not 
a mere obscuration of the climates. For this must happen 

» Od. xiv. I. 

2 tvdeieXog is the reading of the text, but the reading in Homer is 
i7r7rj7\aroc, adapted for horses, and thus translated by Horace, Epist. lib. 
I. yii. 41, Non est aptus equis Ithacae locus. 

' Od. iv. 607. * Od. ix. 26. * II. xii. 239. « Od. x. 190. 

■^ For the explanation of climate, see book ii. ch. i. § 20, but in this 
passage the word has a diflferent sense, and implies the division of the 
heavens into north, south, east, and west. The idea of Strabo seems 
to be that of a straight line drawn from east to west, dividing the celes- 
tial horizon into two parts, the one northern, (or arctic,) the other 
southern. The sun in its course from east to west continues always as 
regards us in the southern portion. Gossellin. 



166 STRABO. Casaub. 455. 

during every cloudy season either by day or by night. Now 
the celestial appearances alter very much as we advance more 
or less towards the south, or the contrary ; but this alteration 
does not prevent our observing the setting and rising of the 
sun, for in fine weather these phenomena are always visible 
whether in the south or the north. For the pole is the most 
northerly point : when this moves, and is sometimes over our 
heads and sometimes below the earth, the arctic circles change 
their position with it. Sometimes they disappear during 
these movements, so that you cannot discern the position of 
the northern climate, nor where it commences ; ^ and if this 
is so, neither can you distinguish the contrary climate. 

The circuit of Ithaca is about 80 '-^ stadia. So much then 
concerning Ithaca. 

13. The poet does not mention Cephallenia, which contains 
four cities, by its present name, nor any of the cities except 
one, either Same or Samos, which no longer exists, but traces 
o'f it are shown in the middle of the Strait near Ithaca. The 
inhabitants have the name of Samge. The rest still exist at 
present, they are small cities, Paleis, Pronesus, and Cranii. 
In our time Caius Antonius, the uncle of Marcus Antonius, 
founded an additional city, when (being an exile after his con- 
sulship in which he was the colleague of Cicero the orator) he 
lived at Cephallenia, and was master of the whole island, as 
if it had been his own property. He returned from exile be- 
fore he completed the foundation of the settlement, and died 
when engaged in more important affairs. 

14. Some writers do not hesitate to affirm, that Cephallenia 
and Dulichium are the same ; others identify it with Taphos, 
and the Cephallenians with Taphians, and these again with 
Teleboee. They assert that Amphitryon, with the aid of Ce- 
phalus, the son of DeToneus, an exile from Athens, undertook 
an expedition against the island, and having got possession of 
it, delivered it up to Cephalus ; hence this city bore his name, 
and the rest those of his children. But this is not in accord- 
ance with Homer, for the Cephallenians were subject to 
Ulysses and Laertes, and Taphos to Mentes ; 

" I boast that I am Mentes, son of the valiant Anchialus, 
And king of the Taphians, skilful rowers." ^ 

' oi)^' oTTov dpxr]. ^ So in the text, but there is manifestly an error. 
3 Od. i. 181. 



B. X. c. II. § 15, 16. CEPHALLENIA. 167 

Taphos is now called Taphius.^ Nor does Hellanicus follow 
Homer when he calls Cephallenia, Dulichium, for Dulichium, 
and the other Echinades, are said to be under the command 
of Meges, and the inhabitants, Epeii, who came from Elis; 
wherefore he calls Otus the Cyllenian, 

" companion of Phyleides, chief of the magnanimous Epeii ; " ^ 
"but Ulysses led the magnanimous Cephallenes." ^ 

Neither, as Andro asserts, is Cephallenia, according to Homer, 
Dulichium, nor does Dulichium belong to Cephallenia, for 
Epeii possessed Dulichium, and Cephallenians the whole of 
Cephallenia,' the former of whom were under the command 
of Ulysses, the latter of Meges. Paleis is not called Du- 
lichium by Homer, as Pherecydes says. But he who asserts 
that Cephallenia and Dulichium are the same contradicts 
most strongly -the account of Homer ; for as fifty-two of the 
suitors came from Dulichium, and twenty-four from Same, 
would he not say, that from the whole island came such a 
number of suitors, and from a single city of the four came 
half the number within two ? If any one should admit this, 
we shall inquire what the Same could be, which is mentioned 
in this line, 

" Dulichium and Same, and the woody Zacynthus." * 

15. Cephallenia is situated opposite to Acarnania, at the dis- 
tance from Leucatas of about 50, or according to others, of 40 
stadia, and from Chelonatas^ of about 80 stadia. It is about 300 
stadia (1300 ?) in circumference. It extends in length towards 
the south-east (Eurus). It is mountainous ; the largest moun- 
tain in it is the JEnus,^ on which is the temple of Jupiter 
-3i]nesius. Here is the narrowest part of the island, which forms 
a low isthmus, that is frequently overflowed from sea to sea.^ 
Cranii ^ and Paleis ^ are situated near the straits in the Gulf. 

16. Between Ithaca and Cephallenia is the small island 

1 I. Meganisi. 2 II. xv. 519. 3 II. ii. 631. 

" Od. i. 246. * C. Tornese. « Monte Nero. 

' We may hence conjecture that Cephallenia in the time of Homer 
was divided into two parts, Dulichium and Sam6. It may explain at 
least the uncertainty of the ancients respecting the position of Dulichium. 
Pausanias, b. vi, c. 15, speaking of the Paleis says, that formerly they 
were called Dulichii; and Hesychius, that Dulichium is a city of Ce- 
phallenia. 

* Situated near the modem capital Argostoli. 

^ Probably the site X)f the ruins in the harbour of Viscardo. 



168 STRABO. Casaub. 457. 

Asteria,^ or Asteris, as it is called by the poet, which, accord- 
ing to Demetrius, the Scepsian, does not remain in the state 
described by the poet, 

" there are harbours in it, open on both sides, for the reception of vessels."" 
But ApoUodorus says that it exists even at present, and men- 
tions a small city in it, Alalcomenae, situated quite upon the 
isthmus. 

17. The poet also gives the name of Samos to Thracia, 
which we now call Samothrace. He was probably acquainted 
with the Ionian island, for he seems to have been acquainted 
with the Ionian migration. He would not, otherwise, have 
made a distinction between islands of the same names, for in 
speaking of Samothrace, he makes the distinction sometimes 
by the epithet, 

" on high, upon the loftiest summit of the woody Samos, the Thracian,"' 
sometimes by uniting it with the neighbouring islands, 

" to Samos, and Imbros, and inaccessible Lemnos ;'"* 
and again, 

" between Samos and rocky Imbros." ^ 
He was therefore acquainted with the Ionian island, although 
he has not mentioned its name. Nor had it formerly always 
the same name, but was called Melamphylus, then Anthemis, 
then Parthenia, from the river Parthenius, the name of which 
was changed to Imbrasus. Since then both Cephallenia and 
Samothrace were called Samos ^ at the time of the Trojan 
war, (for if it had not been so Hecuba would not have been 
introduced saying, that Achilles would sell any of her chil- 
dren that he could seize at Samos and Imbros,*^) Ionian Samos 
was not yet colonized (by lonians), which is evident from its 
having the same name from one of the islands earlier (called 
Samos), that had it before; whence this also is clear, that 
those persons contradict ancient history, who assert, that 
colonists came from Samos after the Ionian migration, and 
the arrival of Tembrion, and gave the name of Samos to 
Samothrace. The Samians invented this story out of vanity. 
Those are more entitled to credit, who say, that heights arc 

» I. Dascaglio. * od. iv. 846. ^ II. xiii. 12. 

< II. xxiv. 753. 5 II. xxiv. 78. 

« In the Valle d' Alessandro, in Cephalonia, there is still a place called 
Same. ' II. xxiv. 752. 



B. X. c. II. § 18, 19. ZACYNTHUS. ECHINADES. 



169 



called Sami,^ and that the island obtained its name from this 
circumstance, for from thence 

" was seen all Ida, the city of Priam, and the ships of the Greeks."' 
But according to some writers, Samos had its name from the 
Saii, a Thracian tribe, who formerly inhabited it, and who oc- 
cupied also the adjoining continent, whether they were the 
same people as the Sapae, or the Sinti, whom the poet calls 
Sinties, or a different nation. Archilochus mentions the 
Saii; 

" one of the Saii is exulting in the possession of an honourable shield, 
which I left against my will near a thicket." 

18. Of the islands subject to Ulysses there remains to be 
described Zacynthus.^ It verges a little more than Cephal- 
lenia to the west of Peloponnesus, but approaches closer to it. 
It is 160 stadia in circumference, and distant from Cephallenia 
about 60 stadia. It is woody, but fertile, and has a consider- 
able city of the same name. Thence to the Hesperides be- 
longing to Africa are 3300'* stadia. 

19. To the east of this island, and of Cephallenia, are situ- 
ated the Echinades^ islands; among which is Dulichium, at 
present called Dolicha, and the islands called Oxeiae, to which 
the poet gives the name of Thoae.^ 

Dolicha is situated opposite to the CEniadas, and the mouth 
of the Achelous : it is distant from Araxus,' the promontory 
of Elis, 100 stadia. The rest of the Echinades are numerous, 
they are all barren and rocky, and lie in front of the mouth 
of the Achelous, the most remote of them at the distance of 
15, the nearest at the distance of 5 stadia; they formerly 
were farther out at sea, but the accumulation of earth, which 
is brought down in great quantity by the Achelous, has al- 
ready joined some, and will join others, to the continent. This 
accumulation of soil anciently formed the tract Paracheloitis, 
which the river overflows, a subject of contention, as it was 
continually confounding boundaries, which had been de- 
termined by the Acarnanians and the ^tolians. For want of 
arbitrators they decided their dispute by arms. The most 

» "Ednoi. 2 II. xiii. 13, » Zante. 

* 3600 stadia ? see b. xvii. c. iii. § 20. 

* Curzolari, Oxia, Petala, &c. « O^. xv. 298. ^ C. Papa. 



170 STRABO. CA8AUB. 458. 

powerful gained the victory. This gave occasion to a fable, 
how Hercules overcame the Achelous in figlit, and received in 
marriage as the prize of his victory, Dei'aneira, daughter of 
OEneus. Sophocles introduces her, saying, 

" My suitor was a river, I mean the Achelous, who demanded me of ray 
father under three forms ; one while coming as a bull of perfect form, 
another time as a spotted writhing serpent, at another with the body of a 
man and the forehead of a bull." ' 

Some writers add, that this was the horn of Amaltheia, which 
Hercules broke off from the Achelous, and presented to 
Q^neus as a bridal gift. Others, conjecturing the truth in- 
cluded in this story, say, that Achelous is reported to have 
resembled a bull, like other rivers, in the roar of their waters, 
and the bendings of their streams, which they term horns ; 
and a serpent from its length and oblique course ; and bull- 
fronted because it was compared to a bull's head ; and that 
Hercules, who, on other occasions, was disposed to perform 
acts of kindness for the public benefit, so particularly, when he 
was desirous of contracting an alliance with Qiineus, performed 
for him these services ; he prevented the river from overflow- 
ing its banks, by constructing mounds and by diverting its 
streams by canals, and by draining a large tract of the Para- 
cheloitis, which had been injured by the river ; and this is the 
horn of Amaltheia. 

Homer says, that in the time of the Trojan war the Echi- 
nades, and the Oxeiae were subject to Meges, 

" son of the hero Phyleus, beloved of Jupiter, who formerly repaired to 
Dulichium on account of a quarrel with his father."^ 

The father of Phyleus was Augeas, king of Elis, and of the 
Epeii. The Epeii then, who possessed these islands, were 
those who had migrated to Dulichium with Phyleus. 

20. The islands of the Taphii, and formerly of the Tele- 
boas, among which was Taphus, now called Taphius, were 
distinct from the Echinades, not separated by distance, (for 
they lie near one another,) but because they were ranged un- 
der different chiefs, Taphii and Telebose. In earlier times 
Amphitryon, in conjunction with Cephalus, the son of Deio- 
neus, an exile from Athens, attacked, and then delivered them 
up to the government of Cephalus. But the poet says that 

' Sophocles, Trachinicfi, v. 9. ^ n ^i 628. 



B. X. c. II. § 21. ISLANDS OF THE TAPHII. 171 

Mentes was their chief, and calls them robbers, which was 
the character of all the Teleboae. 

So much then concerning the islands off Acarnania. 

21. Between Leucas and the Ambracian gulf is a sea-lake, 
called Myrtuntium.^ Next to Leucas followed Paleerus, and 
Alyzia, cities of Acarnania, of which Alyzia is distant from 
the sea 1 5 stadia. Opposite to it is a harbour sacred to Her- 
cules, and a grove from whence a Roman governor trans- 
ported to Rome " the labours of Hercules," the workmanship 
of Lysippus, which was lying in an unsuitable place, being a 
deserted spot.^ 

Next are Crithote,^ a promontory, and the Echinades, and 
Astacus, used in the singular number, a city of the same name 
as that near Nicomedia, and the Gulf of Astacus, Crithote, a 
city of the same name as that in the Thracian Chersonesus. 
All the coast between these places has good harbours. Then 
follows QEniad^e, and the Achelous ; then a lake belonging to 
the Q^niadee, called Melite, 30 stadia in length, and in breadth 
20 ; then another Cynia, of double the breadth and length of 
Melite ; a third Uria,^ much less than either of the former. 
Cynia even empties itself into the sea ; the others are situated 
above it at the distance of about half a stadium. 

Next is the river Evenus, which is distant from Actium 
670 stadia. 

Then follows the mountain Chalcis, which Artemidorus 
calls Chalcia ; [next Pleuron, then Licyrna, a village, above 
which in the interior is situated Calydon at the distance of 30 
stadia. Near Calydon is the temple of Apollo Laphrius;]^ 
then the mountain Taphiassus ; then Macynia, a city ; then 
Molycria, and near it Antirrhium, the boundary of iEtolia 
and of Locris. To Antirrhium from the Evenus are about 
120 stadia. 

Artemidorus does not place the mountain, whether Chalcis 
or Chalcia, between the Achelous and Pleuron, but Apollo- 

* Not identified. 

^ Gossellin remarks the double error coinmitted by Winkelman, who, 
on the authority of this passage, states that the Hercules (not the Labours 
of Hercules) of Lysippus was transferred to Rome in the time of Nero, 
long after this Book was written. 

^ Dragomestre. ■* The lake Xerolimne. 

* Kramer proposes the transposition of the sentence within brackets 
to the beginning of the paragraph. 



172 STRABO. Casaub. 460. 

dorus, as I have said before, places Chalcis and Taphiassus 
above Molycria ; and Calydon between Pleuron and Chalcis. 
Are we then to place one mountain of the name of Chalcia 
near Pleuron, and another of the name of Chalcis near 
Molycria ? 

Near Calydon is a large lake, abounding with fish. It be- 
longs to the Romans of Patrae. 

22. Apollodorus says, that there is in the inland parts of 
Acarnania, a tribe of Erysichaei, mentioned by Alcman, 

" not an Erysichaean, nor a shepherd ; but I came from the extremities 
of Sardis." 

Olenus belonged to JEtolia ; Homer mentions it in the ^to- 
lian Catalogue,^ but traces alone remain of it near Pleuron 
below Aracynthus.^ 

Lysimachia also was near Olenus. This place has disap- 
peared. It was situated upon the lake, the present Lysima- 
chia, formerly Hydra, between Pleuron and the city Arsinoe,^ 
formerly a village of the name of Conopa. It was founded by 
Arsinoe, wife and also sister of the second Ptolemy. It is 
conveniently situated above the passage across the Achelous. 

Pylene has experienced nearly the same fate as Olenus. 

When the poet describes Calydon '* as lofty, and rocky, we 
must understand these epithets as relating to the character of 
the country. For we have said before, that when they di- 
vided the country into two parts, they assigned the moun- 
tainous portion and the Epictetus ^ to Calydon, and the tract of 
plains to Pleuron. 

23. The Acarnanians, and the -^tolians, like many other 
nations, are at present worn out, and exhausted by continual 
wars. The ^tolians however, in conjunction with the Acar- 
nanians, during a long period withstood the Macedonians and 
the other Greeks, and lastly the Romans, in their contest for 
independence. 

But since Homer, and others, both poets and historians, 
frequently mention them, sometimes in clear and undisputed 
terms, and sometimes less explicitly, as appears from what we 
have already said of these people, we must avail ourselves of 
some of the more ancient accounts, which will supply us with 

' Il.ii. 639. 2 M. Zigos. ^ Angelo Castron. 

* Near Mauro Mati. ^ See c. ii. § 3, Epictetus. 



B. X. c. II. § 24. ACARNANIA. ^TOLIA. 173 

a beginning, or with an occasion of inquiring into what is 
controverted. 

24. First then with respect to Acarnania. We have al- 
ready said, that it was occupied by Laertes and the Cephalle- 
nians ; but as many writers have advanced statements respect- 
ing the first occupants in terms sufficiently clear, indeed, but 
contradictory, the inquiry and discussion are left open to us. 

They say, that the Taphii and Teleboae, as they are called, 
were the first inhabitants of Acarnania, and that their chief, 
Cephalus, who was appointed by Amphitryon sovereign of the 
islands about Taphus, was master also of this country. Hence 
is related of him the fable, that he was the first person who 
took the reputed leap from Leucatas. But the poet does not 
say, that the Taphii inhabited Acarnania before the arrival of 
the Cephallenians and Laertes, but that they were friends cf 
the Ithacenses ; consequently, in his time, either they had 
not the entire command of these places, or had voluntarily re- 
tired, or had even become joint settlers. 

A colony of certain from Lacedaemon seems to have settled 
in Acarnania, who were followers of Icarius, father of Pene- 
lope, for the poet in the Odyssey represents him and the 
brothers of Penelope as then living ; 

" who did not dare to go to the palace of Icarius with a view of his dis- 
posing of his daughter in marriage." ^ 

And with respect to the brothers ; 

" for now a long time both her father and her brothers were urging her 

to marry Eurymachus." ' 

Nor is it probable that they were living at Lacedaemon, for 
Telemachus would not, in that case, have been the guest of 
Menelaus upon his arrival, nor is there a tradition, that they 
had any other habitation. But they say that Tyndareus and 
his brother Icarius, after being banished from their own 
country by Hippocoon, repaired to Thestius, the king of the 
Pleuronii, and assisted in obtaining possession of a large 
tract of country on the other side of the Achelous on condi- 
tion of receiving a portion of it; that Tyndareus, having 
espoused Leda the daughter of Thestius, returned home ; that 
Icarius continued there in possession of a portion of Acar- 
nania, and had Penelope and her brothers by his wife Poly- 
casta^ daughter of Lygasus. 

» Od. ii. 52. ' Od. XV. 16. 



174 STRABO. Casaub. 461. 

We have shown by the Catalogue of the Ships in Homer, 
that the Acarnanians were enumerated among the people who 
took part in the war of Troy ; and among these are reckoned 
the inhabitants of the Acte, and besides these, 

" they who occupied Epirus, and cultivated the land opposite." 
But Epirus was never called Acarnania, nor Acte, Leucas. 

25. Ephorus does not say that they took part in the expe- 
dition against Troy ; but he says that Alcma^on, the son of 
Amphiaraus, who was the companion of Diomede, and the 
other Epigoni in their expedition, having brought the war 
against the Thebans to a successful issue, went with Diomede 
to assist in punishing the enemies of CEneus, and having de- 
livered up JEtolia to Diomede, he himself passed over into 
Acarnania, which country also he subdued. In the mean 
time Agamemnon attacked the Argives, and easily overcame 
them, the greatest part having attached themselves to the fol- 
lowers of Diomede. But a short time afterwards, when the 
expedition took place against Troy, he was afraid, lest, in his 
absence with the army, Diomede and his troops should return 
home, (for there was a rumour that he had collected a large 
force,) and should regain possession of a territory to which 
they had the best right, one being the heir of Adrastus, the 
other of his father. Reflecting then on these circumstances, 
he invited them to unite in the recovery of Argos, and to 
take part in the war. Diomede consented to take part in the 
expedition, but Alcmseon was indignant and refused ; whence 
the Acarnanians were the only people who did not partici- 
pate in the expedition with the Greeks. The Acarnanians, 
probably by following this account, are said to have imposed 
upon the Romans, and to have obtained from them the privi- 
lege of an independent state, because they alone had not 
taken part in the expedition against the ancestors of the Ro- 
mans, for their names are neither in the ^tolian Catalogue, 
nor are they mentioned by themselves, nor is their name 
mentioned anywhere in the poem. 

26. Ephorus then having represented Acarnania as subject 
to Alcmason before the Trojan war, ascribes to him the found- 
ation of Amphilochian Argos, and says that Acarnania had 
its name from his son Acarnan, and the Amphilochians from 
his brother Amphilochus ; thus he turns aside to reports con- 
trary to the history in Homer. But Thucydides and other 



B. X. c. III. § 1. CURETES. 175 

writers saj, that Amphllochus, on his return from the Trojan 
expedition, being displeased with the state of affairs at Argos, 
dwelt in this country ; according to some writers, he obtained 
it bj succeeding to the dominions of his brother ; others re- 
present" it differently. So much then respecting the Acarna- 
nians considered by themselves. We shall now speak of their 
affairs where they are intermixed in common with those of 
the JEtolians, and we shall then relate as much of the history 
of the ^tolians as we proposed to add to our former account 
of this people. 



CHAPTER III. 



1. Some writers reckon the Curetes among the Acarnani- 
ans, others among the -3iltolians ; some allege that they came 
from Crete, others that they came from Euboea. Since, 
however, they are mentioned by Homer, we must first ex- 
amine his account of them. It is thought that he does not 
mean the Acarnanians, but the ^tolians, in the following 
verses, for the sons of Porthaon were, 

" Agrius, Melas, and the hero CEneus, 
These dwelt at Pleuron, and the lofty Calydon," * 

both of which are ^tolian cities, and are mentioned in the 
JEtolian Catalogue ; wherefore since those who inhabited 
Pleuron appear to be, according to Homer, Curetes, they 
might be -<Etolians. The opponents of this conclusion are 
misled by the mode of expression in these verses, 
" Curetes and iEtolians, firm in battle, were fighting for the city Calydon,"* 
for neither would he have used appropriate terms if he had 
said, 

" Boeotians and Thebans were contending against each other," 
nor 

" Argives and Peloponnesians.'* 

But we have shown in a former part of this work, that this 
mode of expression is usual with Homer, and even trite among 
other poets. This objection then is easily answered. But 
let the objectors explain, how, if these people were not jEto- 

» II. xiv. 116. 2 ii_ ix. 525. 



176 STRABO. Casaub. 463. 

lians, the poet came to reckon the Pleuronii among the -^to- 
lians. 

2. Ephorus, after having asserted that the nation of the 
^tolians were never in subjection to any other people, but, 
from all times of which any memorial remains, their country 
continued exempt from the ravages of war, both on account of 
its local obstacles and their own experience in warfare, says, 
that from the beginning Curetes were in possession of the 
whole country, but on the arrival of ^tolus, the son of Endy- 
mion, from Elis, who defeated them in various battles, the 
Curetes retreated to the present Acarnania, and the JEtolians 
returned with a body of Epeii, and founded ten of the most 
ancient cities in JEtolia ; and in the tenth generation after- 
wards Elis was founded, in conjunction with that people, by 
Oxylus, the son of Haemon, who had passed over from ^tolia. 
They produce, as proofs of these facts, inscriptions, one 
sculptured on the base of the statue of ^tolus at Therma in 
^Etolia, where, according to the custom of the country, they 
assemble to elect their magistrates ; 

" this statue of ^tolus, son of Endymion, brought up near the streams of 
the Alpheius, and in the neighbourhood of the stadia of Olympia, -lEtolians 
dedicated as a public monument of his merits." 

And the other inscription on the statue of Oxylus is in the 
market-place of Elis ; 

" uiEtolus, having formerly abandoned the original inhabitants of this 
country, won by the toils of war the land of the Curetes. But Oxylus, 
the son of Haemon, the tenth scion of tliat race, founded this ancient 
city." 

3. He rightly alleges, as a proof of the affinity subsisting 
reciprocally between the Eleii and the -^tolians, these in- 
scriptions, both of which recognise not the affinity alone, but 
also that their founders had established settlers in each other's 
country. Whence he clearly convicts those of falsehood who 
assert, that the Eleii were a colony of JEtolians, and that the 
-^tolians were not a colony of Eleii. But he seems to ex- 
hibit the same inconsistency in his positions here, that we 
proved ^ with regard to the oracle at Delphi. For after as- 
serting that ^tolia had never been ravaged by war from all 
time of which there was any memorial, and saying, that from 
the first the Curetes were in possession of this country, he 

' B. ix. c. iii. § 11. 



B. X. c. III. § 4, 5. THE CURETES. 177 

ought to have inferred from such premises, that the Curetes 
continued to occupy the country of -.Etolia to his days. For 
in this manner it might be understood never to have been 
devastated, nor in subjection to any other nation. But for- 
getting his position, he does not infer this, but the contrary, 
that ^tolus came from Elis, and having defeated the Curetes 
in various battles, these people retreated into Acarnania. 
What else then is there peculiar to the devastation of a country 
than the defeat of the inhabitants in war and their abandon- 
ment of their land, which is evinced by the inscription among 
the Eleii ; for speaking of ^tolus the words are, 
" he obtained possession of the country of the Curetes by the continued 
toils of war.'' 

4. But perhaps some person may say, that he means jiEtolia 
was not laid waste, reckoning from the time that it had this 
name after the arrival of ^tolus ; but he takes away the 
ground of this supposition, by saying afterwards, that the 
greatest part of the people, that remained among the ^tolians, 
were those called Epeii, with whom JEtolians were after- 
wards intermingled, who had been expelled from Thessaly 
together with Boeotians, and possessed the country in common 
with these people. But is it probable that, without any hos- 
tilities, they invaded the country of another nation and 
divided it among themselves and the original possessors, 
who did not require such a partition of their land ? If this is 
not probable, is it to be believed that the victors agreed to an 
equal division of the territory ? What else then is devastation 
of a country, but the conquest of it by arms ? Besides, Apol- 
lodorus says that, according to history, the Hyantes aban- 
doned Boeotia and came and settled among the -^tolians, and 
concludes as confident that his opinion is right by saying it is 
our custom to relate these and similar facts exactly, when- 
ever any of them is altogether dubious, or concerning which 
erroneous opinions are entertained. 

5. Notwithstanding these faults in Ephorus, still he is 
superior to other writers. Poly bins himself, who has stu- 
diously given him so much praise, has said that Eudoxus has 
written well on Grecian aifairs, but that Ephorus has given 
the best account of the foundation of cities, of the relationship 
subsisting between nations, of changes of settlements, and of 
leaders of colonies, in these words, " but I shall explain the 



178 STRABO. Casaub. 465. 

present state of places, both as to position and distances ; for 
this is the peculiar province of chorography." ^ 

But you, Polybius, who introduce popular hearsay, and 
rumours on the subject of distances, not only of places beyond 
Greece, but in Greece itself, have you not been called to 
answer the charges sometimes of Posidonius, sometimes of 
Artemidorus, and of many other writers ? ought you not there- 
fore to excuse us, and not to be offended, if in transferring 
into our own work a large part of the historical poets from 
such writers we commit some errors, and to commend us when 
we are generally more exact in what we say than others, or 
supply what they omitted through want of information. 

6. With respect to the Curetes, some facts are related 
which belong more immediately, some more remotely, to the 
history of the -^tolians and Acarnanians. The facts more 
immediately relating to them, are those which have been 
mentioned before, as that the Curetes were living in the 
country which is now called ^tolia, and that a body of 
^tolians under the command of ^tolus came there, and drove 
them into Acarnania ; and these facts besides, that ^olians 
invaded Pleuronia, which was inhabited by Curetes, and 
called Curetis, took away their territory, and expelled the 
possessors. 

But Archemachus^ of Euboea says that the Curetes had 
their settlement at Chalcis, but being continually at war about 
the plain Lelantum, and finding that the enemy used to seize 
and drag them by the hair of the forehead, they wore their 
hair long behind, and cut the hair short in front, whence they 
had the name of Curetes, (or the shorn,) from cura, (Kovpa,) 
or the tonsure which they had undergone ; that they removed 
to jEtolia, and occupied the places about Pleuron ; that 
others, who lived on the other side of the Achelous, because 
they kept their heads unshorn, were called Acarnanians. ^ 

But according to some writers each tribe derived its name 
from some hero ; ^ according to others, that they had the 

' As distinguished from geography. See b. i. c. i. § 16, note ^ 

* The author of a work in several books on Euboea. Athenseus, b. vi. 
c. J 8. 

^ The unshorn. 

* From Acarnan, son of Alcmaeon. Thucyd. b. ii. c. 102. But the hero 
firom whom the Curetes obtained their name is not mentioned. 



B. X. c. III. § 7. THE CURETES. 179 

name of Curetes from the mountain Curium,^ whicli is situated 
above Pleuron, and that this is an ^tolian tribe, like the 
Ophieis, Agraei, Eurytanes, and many others. 

But, as we have before said, when ^Etolia was divided into 
two parts, the country about Calydon was said to be in the 
possession of Qi^neus ; and a portion of Pleuronia in that of 
the Porthaonidae of the branch of Agrius, ^ for 

"they dwelt at Pleuron, and the lofty Calydon."^ 

Thestius however, father-in-law of Q^neus, and father of 
Althaea, chief of the Curetes, was master of Pleuronia. But 
when war broke out between the Thestiadae, QEneus, and 
Meleager about a boar's head and skin, according to the poet,* 
following the fable concerning the boar of Calydon, but, as is 
probable, the dispute related to a portion of the territory ; the 
words are these, 

" Curetes and ^tolians, firm in battle, fought against one another."* 

These then are the facts more immediately connected (with 
geography). 

7. There ^ are others more remote from the subject of this 

' The position of this mountain is not determined. 

^ GEneus and his children were themselves Porthaonidae. (Eneus had 
possession only of Calydon, his brother Agrius and his children had a 
part of Pleuronia. Thestius, cousin-german of CEneus and of Agrius, re- 
ceived as his portion the remainder of Pleuronia and transmitted it to his 
children, (the Thestiadse,) who probably succeeded in gaining possession 
of the whole country. The Porthaonidae of the branch of Agrius, were 
Thersites, Onchestus, Prothous, Celeulor, Lycopeiis, and Melanippus. 
Apollodorus, b. i. c. 7, 8. 

3 II. xiv. 117. * II. ix. 544. « II. ix. 525. 

* " Cette digression est curieuse, sans doute * * * * Plusieurs cri- 
tiques ont fait de ce morceau I'objet de leur etude ; neanmoins il demeure 
heriss^ de difficultes, et dernierement M. Heyne (quel juge ! ) a pro- 
nonce que tout y restait a ^claircir. Du Theil. 

The myths relating to the Curetes abound with different statements 
and 'confusion. The following are the only points to be borne in mind. 
The Curetes belong to the most ancient times of Greece, and probably 
are to be counted among the first inhabitants of Phrygia. They were the 
authors and expositors of certain religious rites, which they celebrated 
with dances. According to mythology they played a part at the birth of 
Jupiter. They were sometimes called Idaean Dactyli. Hence their 
name was given to the ministers of the worship of the Great Mother 
among the Phrygians, which was celebrated with a kind of religious 
frenzy. The Curetes were also called Corybantes. Hence also arose the 
confusion between the religious rites observed in Crete, Phrygia, and 

N 2 



180 STRABO. C AS ALB. 466. 

work, which have been erroneously placed by historians 
under one head on account of the sameness of name : for in- 
stance, accounts relating to " Curetic affairs " and " concerning 
the Curetes " have been considered as identical with accounts 
"concerning the people (of the same name) who inhabited 
^Etolia and Acarnania." But the former differ from the 
latter, and resemble rather the accounts which we have of 
Satyri and Silenes, Bacchse and Tityri ; for the Curetes are 
represented as certain daemons, or ministers of the gods, by 
those who have handed down the traditions respecting Cretan 
and Phrygian affairs, and which involve certain religious 
rites, some mystical, others the contrary, relative to the nur- 
ture of Jupiter in Crete ; the celebration of orgies in honour 
of the mother of the gods, in Phrygia, and in the neighbour- 
hood of the Trojan Ida. There is however a very great 
variety^ in these accounts. According to some, the Cory- 
bantes, Cabeiri, Idaean Dactyli, and Telchines are repre- 
sented as the same persons as the Curetes ; according to 
others, they are related to, yet distinguished from, each other 
by some slight differences ; but to describe them in general 
terms and more at length, they are inspired with an enthusi- 
astic and Bacchic frenzy, which is exhibited by them as minis- 
ters at the celebration of the sacred rites, by inspiring terror 
with armed dances, accompanied with the tumult and noise 
of cymbals, drums, and armour, and with the sound of pipes 
and shouting ; so that these sacred ceremonies are nearly the 
same as those that are performed among the Samothracians 
in Lemnus, and in many other places ; since the ministers of 
the god are said to be the same.^ The whole of this kind of 

Samothrace. Again, on the other hand, the Curetes have been mistaken 
for an iEtolian people, bearing the same name. Heyne, Not. ad Virgil. 
JEn. iii. 130. Religion, et Sacror. cum furore peract. Orig. Comra. Soc. 
R. Scient. Gotting. vol. viii. Dupuis, origin de tons les cultes, torn. 2. 
Sainte Croix Mem. pour servir a la religion Secrete, &c.. Job. Guberleth. 
Diss, philol. de Myster. deorum Cabir. 1703. Froret. Recher. pour servir 
a I'histoire des Cyclopes, &c. Acad, des Inscript. &c., vol. xxiii. His. 
pag. 27. 1749. 

' rotravTT] TroiKiXia, will bear alsQ to be translated, id tantum varietatis, 
" this difference only," as Groskurd observes. 

2 M. de Saint Croix (Recherches sur les Mystdres, &c. sect. 2, page 
25) is mistaken in asserting that " Strabo clearly refutes the statements 
of those who believed that the Cabeiri, Dactyli, Curetes, Corybantes, and 
Telchines, were not only the same kind of persons, but even separate 



B. X. c. III. § 8. THE CURETES. 181 

discussion is of a theological nature, and is not alien to the 
contemplation of the philosopher. 

8. But since even the historians, through the similarity of 
the name Curetes, have collected into one body a mass of dis- 
similar facts, I myself do not hesitate to speak of them at 
length by way of digression, adding the physical considera- 
tions which belong to the history. ^ Some writers however en- 
deavour to reconcile one account with the other, and perhaps 
they have some degree of probability in their favour. They 
say, for instance, that the people about ^Etolia have the name 
of Curetes from wearing long dresses like girls, (/cdpai,) and 
that there was, among the Greeks, a fondness for some such 
fashion. The lonians also were called " tunic-trailers," ^ and 
the soldiers of Leonidas,^ who went out to battle with their 
hair dressed, were despised by the Persians, but subjects of 
their admiration in the contest. In short, the application 
of art to the hair consists in attending to its growth, and the 
manner of cutting it, ^ and both these are the peculiar care of 
girls and youths ;^ whence in several ways it is easy to find a 
derivation of the name Curetes. It is also probable, that the 
practice of armed dances, first introduced by persons who 
paid so much attention to their hair and their dress, and who 
were called Curetes, afforded a pretence for men more warlike 
than others, and who passed their lives in arms, to be them- 
selves called by the same name of Curetes, I mean those in 
Euboea, ^tolia, and Acarnania. Homer also gives this name 
to the young soldiers ; 

" selecting Curetes, the bravest of the Achaeans, to carry from the swift 
ship, presents, which, yesterday, we promised to Achilles." * 

members of the same family." It appears to me, on the contrary, that 
this was the opinion adopted by our author. Du Theil. 

• TTpoaQiiQ TOP oiKelov ry iGTopia (pvaiKov Xoyov. rationem naturalem, 
utpote congruentum hue, historiae adjiciens. Xy lander. Or paraphrased, 
" The history of this people will receive additional and a fitting illustra- 
tion by a reference to physical facts," such as the manner of wearing 
their hair, tonsure, &c. 

■'' iXKSxi-Tujvag. The words Kai Kpu)j3v\ov Kai rsrriya g/iTrXfx^jjvat 
appear, according to Berkel. ad Steph. p. 74, to be here wanting, " and to 
bind the hair in the form of the Crobulus and ornamented with a grass- 
hopper." The hair over the forehead of the Apollo Belvidere is an ex- 
ample of the crobulus. 

' Herod, vii. 208. * Kovpav rpixog. * Kopaig Kai Kopoig. 

* Strabo therefore considered the 193, 194, 195 verses' of II. xix. as 



182 STRABO. Casaub. 467. 

And again ; 

" Curetes Achaei carried the presents." ^ 
So much then on the subject of the etymology of the name 
Curetes. [The dance in armour is a military dance ; this is 
shown by the Pyrrhic dance and by Pyrrichus, who, it is said, 
invented this kind of exercise for youths, to prepare them for 
military service.]^ 

9. We are now to consider how the names of these people 
agree together, and the theology, which is contained in their 
history. 

Now this is common both to the Greeks and the Barba- 
rians, to perform their religious ceremonies with the observ- 
ance of a festival, and a relaxation from labour ; some are 
performed with enthusiasm, others without any emotion; 
some accompanied with music, others without music ; some in 
mysterious privacy, others publicly ; and these are the dictates 
of nature.^ For relaxation from labour withdraws the thoughts 
from human occupations, and directs the reflecting mind to the 
divinity ; enthusiasm seems to be attended with a certain di- 
vine inspiration, and to approach the prophetic character; 
the mystical concealment of the sacred rites excites veneration 
for the divinity, and imitates his nature, which shuns human 
senses and perception ; music also, accompanied with the 
dance, rhythm, and song, for the same reason brings us near 
the deity by the pleasure which it excites, and by the charms 
of art. For it has been justly said, that men resemble the 
gods chiefly in doing good, but it may be said more properly, 
when they are happy ; and this happiness consists in rejoic- 
ing, in festivals, in philosophy, and in music. ^ For let not 
the art be blamed, if it should sometimes be abused by the 
musician employing it to excite voluptuousness in convivial 

authentic. Heyne was inclined to consider them as an interpolation, in 
which he is supported by other critics. 

' II. xix. 248. The text is probably mutilated, and Strabo may have 
quoted the verses in Homer in which Merion is represented as dancing 
in armour. II. xvi. 617. 

' Kramer suspects this passage to be an interpolation. 

' The reading in the text is rbv d' ovTojg vovv. The translation adopts 
Meineke's reading, voovvra. 

* Quam prseclare philosophatus sit Strabo, me non monente, unusquis- 
que assequitur ; preeclarius, utique, quam illi, qui ex nostro ritu religiose 
omnem hilaritatem exulare voluere. Heyne, Virg. iii. 130. 



B. X. c. III. § 10, 11. THE CURETES. 183 

meetings at banquets, on the stage, or under other circum- 
stances, but let the nature of the institutions which are 
founded on it be examined. • 

10. Hence Plato, and, before his time, the Pythagoreans, 
called music philosophy. They maintained that the world 
subsisted by harmony, and considered every kind of music to 
be the work of the gods. It is thus that the muses are re- 
garded as deities, and Apollo has the name of President of 
the Muses, and all poetry divine, as being conversant about 
the praises of the gods. Thus also they ascribe to music the 
formation of manners, as everything which refines the mind 
approximates to the power of the gods. 

The greater part of the Greeks attribute to Bacchus, 
Apollo, Hecate, the Muses, and Ceres, everything connected 
with orgies and Bacchanalian rites, dances, and the mysteries 
attended upon initiation. They call also Bacchus, Dionysus, 
and the chief Daemon of the mysteries of Ceres. ^ The carry- 
ing about of branches of trees, dances, and initiations are 
common to the worship of these gods. But with respect to 
Apollo and the Muses, the latter preside over choirs of singers 
and dancers ; the former presides both over these and divina- 
tion. All persons instructed in science, and particularly 
those who have cultivated music, are ministers of the Muses ; 
these and also all who are engaged in divination are ministers 
of Apollo. Those of Ceres, are the Mystae, torch-bearers 
and Hierophants ; of Dionysus, Seileni, Satyri, Tityri, Bacchae, 
Lenae, Thyiae, Mimallones, Naides, and Nymphag, as they are 
called. 

11. But in Crete both these, and the sacred rites of Jupiter 
in particular, were celebrated with the performance of orgies, 
and by ministers, like the Satyri, who are employed in the wor- 
ship of Dionysus. These were called Curetes, certain youths 
who executed military movements in armour, accompanied 
with dancing, exhibiting the fable of the birth of Jupiter, in 
which Saturn was introduced, whose custom it was to devour 
his children immediately after their birth ; Rhea attempts to 
conceal the pains of childbirth, and to remove the new-born 
infant out of sight, using her utmost endeavours to preserve it. 

' The original, as Du Theil observes, is singularly obscure, dW t] 
^pvaic, rj Twv iraiStv^aToJv, i^eTu^saOoj, Trjv apxv^ tvOsvSe txovaa. 
* Following the reading suggested by Groskurd. 



184 STRABO. Casaub. 468. 

In this she has the assistance of the Curetes who surround 
the goddess, and by the noise of drums and other similar 
sounds, by dancing in armour and by tumult, endeavour to 
strike terror into Saturn, and escape notice whilst removing 
his child. The child is then delivered into their hands to 
be brought up with the same care by which he was rescued. 
The Curetes therefore obtained this appellation, either be- 
cause they were boys (/cojoot), or because they educated Jupiter 
in his youth {Kovporpofeiy), for there are two explanations, 
inasmuch as they acted the same part with respect to Jupiter 
as the Satyri (with respect to Dionysus). Such then is the 
worship of the Greeks, as far as relates to the celebration of 
orgies. 

12. But the Berecyntes, a tribe of Phrygians, the Phrygi- 
ans in general, and the Trojans, who live about Mount Ida, 
themselves also worship Rhea, and perform orgies in her 
honour ; they call her mother of gods, Agdistis, and Phrygia, ^ 
the Great Goddess ; from the places also where she is wor- 
shipped, Idaea, and Dindymene,^ Sipylene,^ Pessinuntis,* and 
Cybele.^ The Greeks call her ministers by the same name 
Curetes, not that they follow the same mythology, but they 
mean a different kind of persons, a sort of agents analogous to 
the Satyri. These same ministers are also called by them 
Corybantes. 

13. We have the testimony of the poets in favour of these 
opinions. Pindar, in the Dithyrambus, which begins in this 
manner ; 

** formerly the dithyrambus used to creep upon the ground, long and 
trailing." 

After mentioning the hymns, both ancient and modern, in 
honour of Bacchus, he makes a digression, and says, 

" for thee, O Mother, resound the large circles of the cymbals, and the 
ringing crotala ; for thee, blaze the torches of the yellow pine ;" 

where he combines with one another the rites celebrated 
among the Greeks in honour of Dionysus with those per- 
formed among the Phrygians in honour of the mother of the 

' This word appears here misplaced. 

^ The chain of mountains extending from the sources of the Sagaris 
(the Zagari) to the Propontis was called Dindymene. 
' Sipuli Dagh. * Possene. 

* This name is not derived from any place. 



B. X. c. Til. § 13. THE CURETES. 185 

gods. Euripides, in the Bacchae, does the same thing, con- 
joining, from the proximity of the countries,^ Lydian and 
Phrygian customs. 

" Then forsaking Tmolus, the rampart of Lydia, my maidens, my pride, 
[whom I took from among barbarians and made the partners and com- 
panions of my way, raise on high the tambourine of Phrygia, the tam- 
bourine of the great mother Rhea,] my invention. 

" Blest and happy he who, initiated into the sacred rites of the gods, 
leads a pure life ; who celebrating the orgies of the Great Mother Cy- 
bele, who brandishing on high the thyrsus and with ivy crowned, becomes 
Dionysus' worshipper. Haste, Bacchanalians, haste, and bring Bromius 
Dionysus down from the Phrygian mountains to the wide plains of 
Greece." 

And again, in what follows, he combines with these the Cre- 
tan rites. 

" Hail, sacred haunt of the Curetes, and divine inhabitants of Crete, 
progenitors of Jove, where for me the triple-crested Corybantes in their 
caves invented this skin-stretched circle [of the tambourine], who 
mingled with Bacchic strains the sweet breath of harmony from Phrygian 
pipes, and placed in Rhea's hands this instrument which re-echoes to the 
joyous shouts of Bacchanalians: from the Mother Rhea the frantic 
Satyri succeeded in obtaining it, and introduced it into the dances of the 
Trieterides, among whom Dionysus delights to dwell."' 

• Std Tb ofiopov, for dia re "O/ij/pov. Meineke. 

' The literal translation has been preserved in the text for the sake of 
the argument. The following is Potter's translation, in which, hoAvever, 
great liberty is taken with the original. 

"To whom the mysteries of the gods are known. 
By these his life he sanctifies, 
And, deep imbibed their chaste and cleaning lore, 
Hallows his soul for converse with the skies. 
Enraptur'd ranging the wild mountains o'er, 
The mighty mother's orgies leading, 
He his head with ivy shading, 
His light spear wreath'd with ivy twine, 
To Bacchus holds the rites divine. 
Haste then, ye Bacchae, haste, 
Attend your god, the son of heaven's high king. 
From Phrygia's mountains wild and waste 
To beauteous-structur'd Greece your Bacchus bring 

O ye Curetes, friendly band. 

You, the blest natives of Crete's sacred land, 
Who tread those groves, which, dark'ning round, 

O'er infant Jove their shelt'ring branches spread. 
The Corybantes in their caves profound. 

The triple crest high waving on their head, 



186 STRABO. Casaub. 470. 

And the chorus in Palamedes says, 

" Not revelling with Dionysus, who together with his mother was cheered 

with the resounding drums along the tops of Ida." 

14. Conjoining then Seilenus, Marsjas, and Olympus, and 
ascribing to them the invention of the flute, they thus again 
combine Dionysiac and Phrygian rites, frequently confound- 
ing Ida and Olympus,^ and making them re-echo with their 
noise, as if they were the same mountain. There are four 
peaks of Ida called Olympi, opposite Antandros.^ There is 
also a Mysian Olympus, bordering upon Ida, but not the same 
mountain. Sophocles represents Menelaus in the Polyxena 
as setting sail in haste from Troy, and Agamemnon as wish- 
ing to remain behind a short time, with a view to propitiate 
Minerva. He introduces Menelaus as saying, 

"But do thou remain there on the Idsean land, 
Collect the flocks on Olympus, and offer sacrifice." ^ 

15. Tbey invented terms appropriate to the sounds of the 
pipe, of the crotala, cymbals, and drums ; to the noise also of 
shouts ; to the cries of Evoe ; and to the beating of the ground 
with the feet. They invented certain well-known names also 
to designate the ministers, dancers, and servants employed 
about the sacred rites, as Cabeiri, Corybantes, Pans, Satyri, 
Tityri, the god Bacchus; Rhea, Cybele, Cybebe, and Din- 
dymene, from the places where she was worshipped. [The 
god] Sabazius belongs to the Phrygian rites, and may be 
considered the child as it were of the [Great] Mother. The 
traditional ceremonies observed in his worship are those of 
Bacchus.'* 

16. The rites called Cotytia, and Bendideia,^ celebrated 

This timbrel framed, whilst clear and high 

Swelled the Bacchic symphony. 

The Phrygian pipe attemp'ring sweet, 

Their voices to respondence meet. 

And placed in Rhea's hands. 
The frantic satyrs to the rites advance, 

The Bacchae join the festive bands, 
And raptur'd lead the Trieteric dance." 

' There were several mountains bearing the name of Olympus. 1. In 
Thessaly. 2. In Peloponnesus. 3. Of Ida. 4. In Mysia. 5. In Crete. 
2 San Dimitri. ^ od. iii. 144. 

* Adopting Kramer's suggestion of rrapaSovQ to. for irapaSovra. 

* Bendis, Diana of the Thracians; among the Athenians there was a 
festival called Bendideia. 



B. X. c. III. § 17. THE CURETES. 187 

among the Thracians, resemble these. The Orphic ceremonies 
had tlieir origin among these people. -32schylus mentions the 
goddess Cotys, and the instruments used in her worship 
among the Edoni.^ For after saying, 

" O divine Cotys, goddess of the Edoni, 
With the instruments of the mountain worship ;" 

immediately introduces the followers of Dionysus, 

" one holding the bombyces, the admirable work of the turner, with the 
fingers makes the loud notes resound, exciting frenzy ; another makes 
the brass-bound cotylae to re-echo." 

And in another passage ; 

" The song of victory is poured forth ; invisible mimes low and bellow 
from time to time like bulls, inspiring fear, and the echo of the drum rolls 
along like the noise of subterranean thunder ; " ^ 

for these are like the Phrygian ceremonies, nor is it at all 
improbable that, as the Phrygians themselves are a colony of 
Thracians, so they brought from Thrace their sacred ceremo- 
nies, and by joining together Dionysus and the Edonian 
Lycurgus they intimate a similarity in the mode of the wor- 
ship of both. 

17. From the song, the rhythm, and the instruments, all 
Thracian music is supposed to be Asiatic. This is evident 
also from the places where the Muses are held in honour. 
For Pieria, Olympus, Pimpla, and Leibethrum were anciently 
places, and mountains, belonging to the Thracians, but at 
present they are in the possession of the Macedonians. The 
Thracians, who were settled in Boeotia, dedicated Helicon to 
the Muses, and consecrated the cave of the Nymphs, Leibe- 
thriades. The cultivators of ancient music are said to have 
been Thracians, as Orpheus, Musaeus, Thamyris; hence also 
Eumolpus had his name. Those who regard the whole 
of Asia as far as India as consecrated to Bacchus, refer to 
that country as the origin of a great portion of the present 
music. One author speaks of " striking forcibly the Asiatic 
cithara:" another calls the pipes Berecynthian and Phry- 

* Athenseus, b. xi. c. 8. iEschylus in the Edoni (a fragment) calls 
cymbals cotylae. 

2 Probably from a passage in the Erectheus, a lost play of Euripides. 



188 STRABO. Casaub. 471, 

gian. Some of the instruments also have barbarous names, 
as Nablas, Sambyce,^ Barbitus,^ Magadis,^ and many others. 

18. As in other things the Athenians always showed 
their admiration of foreign customs, so they displayed it in 
what respected the gods. They adopted many foreign sacred 
ceremonies, particularly those of Thrace and Phrygia ; for 
which they were ridiculed in comedies. Plato mentions the 
Bendidean, and Demosthenes the Phrygian rites, where he 
is exposing ^schines and his mother to the scorn of the 
people ; the former for having been present when his mother 
was sacrificing, and for frequently joining the band of Baccha- 
nalians in celebrating their festivals, and shouting, Evoi*, 
Saboi, Hyes Attes, and Attes Hyes, for these cries belong to 
the rites of Sabazius and the Great Mother. 

19. But there may be discovered respecting these daemons, 
and the variety of their names, that they were not called minis- 
ters only of the gods, but themselves were called gods. For 
Hesiod says that Hecaterus and the daughter of Phoroneus 
had five daughters, 

" From whom sprung the goddesses, the mountain nymphs, 
And the worthless and idle race of satyrs, 
And the gods Curetes, lovers of sport and dance." 

The author of the Phoronis calls the Curetes, players upon 
the pipe, and Phrygians ; others call them " earth-born, and 
wearing brazen shields." Another author terms the Cory- 
bantes, and not the Curetes, Phrygians, and the Curetes, Cret- 
ans. Brazen shields were first worn in Euboea, whence the 
people had the name of Chalcidenses.'^ Others say, that the 
Corybantes who came from Bactriana, or, according to some 
writers, from the Colchi, were given to Rhea, as a band of armed 
ministers, by Titan. But in the Cretan history the Curetes 
are called nurses and guardians of Jove, and are described as 
having been sent for from Phrygia to Crete by Rhea. Ac- 
cording to other writers, there were nine Telchines in 
Rhodes, who accompanied Rhea to Crete, and from nursing^ 
Jupiter had the name of Curetes;^ that Corybus, one of 
their party, was the founder of Hierapytna, and furnished the 

' Nablas and Sambyce are Syriac words. AthenaBUS, b. iv. c. 24. 
' The invention of Anacreon, according to Neanthus Cyzicenus. 
3 Athenaeus, b. xiv. c. 8, 9. * See above, ch. iii. § 1, 6, 8. 

* KovpoTpo<p7]<TavTtQ. ' KovprJTeQ. 



B. X. c. III. § 20, 21. THE CURETES. 189 

Prasians ^ in Rhodes with the pretext for saying that Cory- 
bantes were certain daemons, children of Minerva and the sun. 
By others, the Corybantes are represented to be the children 
of Saturn ; by others, of Jupiter and Calliope, or to be the 
same persons as the Cabeiri ; that they went away^ to Samo- 
thrace,^ which was formerly called Melite ; but their lives 
and actions are mysterious. 

20. The Scepsian (Demetrius) who has collected fabulous 
stories of this kind, does not receive this account because 
no mysterious tradition about the Cabeiri is preserved in Sa- 
mothrace, yet he gives the opinion of Stesimbrotus of Thasus, 
to the effect that the sacred rites in Samothrace were celebrated 
in honour of the Cabeiri.'^ Demetrius, however, says that they 
had their name from Cabeirus, the mountain in Berecynthia. 
According to others, the Curetes were the same as the Cory- 
bantes, and were ministers of Hecate. 

The Scepsian says in another place, in contradiction to 
Euripides, that it is not the custom in Crete to pay divine 
honours to Rhea, and that these rites were not established 
there, but in Phrygia only, and in the Troad, and that they 
who affirm the contrary are mythologists rather than histo- 
rians ; and were probably misled by an identity of name, for 
Ida is a mountain both in the Troad and in Crete; and 
Dicte is a spot in the Scepsian territory, and a mountain in 
Crete.^ Pytna is a peak of Ida, (and a mountain in Crete,) 
whence the city Hierapytna has its name. There is Hippo- 
corona in the territory of Adramyttium, and Hippocoro- 
nium^ in Crete. Samonium also is the eastern promontory 
of the island, and a plain in the Neandris,' and in the terri- 
tory of the Alexandrians (Alexandria Troas). 

21. But Acusilaus, the Argive, mentions a Camillus, the 

' Who were the Prasians of Rhodes I confess I cannot say. Palmer. 

^ From whence Strabo does not inform us. 

3 The Scholiast of Apollonius remarks that it was formerly called 
Leucosia, afterwards Samos from a certain Sails, and Samothrace when 
it came into possession of the Thracians. It had also the name of Dar- 
dania. 

* The true origin of the word, according to Casaubon, is to be found in 
the Hebrew word Cabir, signifying powerful. Tobias Gutberlethus, 
De mysteriis deorum Cabirotum. 

^ M. Sitia. « Places unknown. ' In the plain of Troy. 



190 STRABO. Casattb. 473. 

son of Cabeira and Vulcan ; who had three sons, Cabeiri, 
(and three daughters,) the Nymphs Cabeirides. ^ 

According to Pherecydes, there sprung from Apollo and 
Rhetia nine Oorybantes, who lived in Samothrace ; that from 
Cabeira, the daughter of Proteus and Vulcan, there were 
three Cabeiri, and three Nymphs, Cabeirides, and that each 
had their own sacred rites. But it was at Lemnos and Im- 
bros that the Cabeiri were more especially the objects of 
divine worship, and in some of the cities of the Troad ; their 
names are mystical. 

Herodotus ^ mentions, that there were at Memphis temples 
of the Cabeiri as well as of Vulcan, which were destroyed by 
Cambyses. The places where these daemons received divine 
honours are uninhabited, as Corybantium in the territory 
Hamaxitia belonging to the country of the Alexandrians, 
near Sminthium ;^ and Corybissa in the Scepsian territory 
about the river Eureis, and a village of the same name, and 
the winter torrent ^thaloeis.'* 

The Scepsian says, that it is probable that the Curetes and 
Oorybantes are the same persons, who as youths and boys 
were employed to perform the armed dance in the worship of 
the mother of the gods. They were called Corybantes ^ from 
their dancing gait, and butting with their head (KopvTrrovTag) ; 
by the poet they were called PrfrapfiovEg, 

" Come hither, you who are the best skilled Betarmones among the 
Phseacians." • 

Because the Corybantes are dancers, and are frantic, we call 
those persons by this name whose movements are furious. 

22. Some writers say that the first inhabitants of the 
country at the foot of Mount Ida were called Idaean Dac- 

• According to the Scholiast on Apollonius Rhod., Arg. 5, 917 per- 
sons were initiated into the mysteries of the Cabeiri in Samothrace. The 
Cabeiri were four in number ; Axieros, Axiokersa, Axiokersos, and Cas- 
milos. Axieros corresponded to Demeter or Ceres, Axiokersa to Perse- 
phone or Proserpine, Axiokersos to Hades or Pluto, and Casmilos to 
Hermes or Mercury. See Ueber die Gottheiten von Samothrace, T. W. 
I. Schelling, 1815 ; and the Classical Journal, vol. xiv. p. 59. 

' Herod, iii. 37. ' Probably a temple of Apollo Smintheus. 

* Corybissa, Eureis, and -^thaloeis are unknown. 

^ They were called Curetes because they were boys, and KovprjTsg fiiv 
airb Tov Kopovg elvai KuXovfievoi. Groskurd suspects these or similar 
words to have followed " Corybantes." 

« Od. viii. 250. 



B. X. c. III. § 23. THE CURETES. 191 

tyli, for the country below mountains is called the foot, and 
the summits of mountains their heads ; so the separate ex- 
tremities of Ida (and all are sacred to the mother of the gods) 
are called Idsean Dactyli. ' 

But Sophocles 2 supposes, that the first five were males, 
who discovered and forged iron,^ and many other things 
which were useful for the purposes of life ; that these persons 
had five sisters, and from their number had the name of 
Dactyli. * Different persons however relate these fables dif- 
ferently, connecting one uncertainty with another. They 
differ both with respect to the numbers and the names of 
these persons ; some of whom they call Celmis, and Damna- 
meneus, and Hercules, and Acmon, who, according to some 
writers, were natives of Ida, according to others, were settlers, 
but all agree that they were the first workers in iron, and 
upon Mount Ida. All writers suppose them to have been 
magicians, attendants upon the mother of the gods, and to have 
lived in Phrygia about Mount Ida. They call the Troad 
Phrygia, because, after the devastation of Troy, the neigh- 
bouring Phrygians became masters of the country. It is also 
supposed that the Curetes and the Corybantes were descend- 
ants of the Idsean Dactyli, and that they gave the name of 
Idaean Dactyli to the first hundred persons who were born in 
Crete ; that from these descended nine Curetes, each of whom 
had ten children, who were called Idaean Dactyli.^ 

23. Although we are not fond of fabulous stories, yet we 
have expatiated upon these, because they belong to subjects of 
a theological nature. 

All discussion respecting the gods requires an examination 
of ancient opinions, and of fables, since the ancients expressed 
enigmatically their physical notions concerning the nature of 
things, and always intermixed fable with their discoveries. 
It is not easy therefore to solve these enigmas exactly, but if 
we lay before the reader a multitude of fabulous tales, some 
consistent with each other, others which are contradictory, we 

' i. e. toes. ' In a lost play, The Deaf Satyrs, 

^ In hoc quoque dissentio, sapientes fuisse, qui ferri metalla et aeris 

invenerunt, cum incendio silvarum adusta tellus, in summo venas jacenles 

liquefacta fudisset. Seneca, Epist. 90. 

* Diodorus Siculus, b, v., says that they obtained the name from being 
equal in number to the ten fingers or toes (Dactyli). 

* Groskurd proposes Corybantes for these latter Idsean Dactyli. 



192 STRABO. Casaub. 474. 

may thus with less difficulty form conjectures about the truth. 
For example, mythologists probably represented the ministers 
of the gods, and the gods themselves, as coursing over the 
mountains, and their enthusiastic behaviour, for the same 
reason that they considered the gods to be celestial beings, 
and to exercise a providential care over all things, and 
especially over signs and presages. Mining, hunting, and a 
search after things useful for the purposes of life, appeared to 
have a relation to this coursing over the mountains, but jug- 
gling and magic to be connected with enthusiastic behaviour, 
religious rites, and divination. Of such a nature, and con- 
nected in particular with the improvement of the arts of life, 
were the Dionysiac and Orphic arts. But enough of this subject. 



CHAPTER IV. 



1. Having described the islands about the Peloponnesus, 
and other islands also, some of which are upon, and others in 
front of, the Corinthian Gulf, we are next to speak of Crete, ^ 
(for it belongs to the Peloponnesus,) and the islands near 
Crete, among which are the Cyclades and the Sporades. 
Some of these are worthy of notice, others are inconsiderable. 

2. At present we are to speak first of Crete. 

^ The common European name Candia is unknown in the island ; the 
Saracenic " Kandax," Megalo Kastron, became with the Venetian writers 
Candia ; the word for a long time denoted only the principal city of the 
island, which retained its ancient name in the chroniclers and in Dante, 
Inferno xiv. 94. It is described by Strabo as lying between Cyrenaica 
and that part of Hellas which extends from Sunium to Laconia, and 
parallel in its length from W. to E. of these two points. The words 
fiEXpi AaKioviKrjg may be understood either of Malea or Ttenarum ; it is 
probable that this geographer extended Crete as far as Taenarum, as from 
other passages in his work (ii. c. v. § 20; viii. c. v. § 1) it would appear 
that he considered it and the W. points of Crete as under the same 
meridian. It is still more difficult to understand the position assigned to 
Crete with regard to Cyrenaica (xvii. c. iii. § 22). Strabo is far nearer 
the truth, though contradicting his former statements, where he makes 
Cimarus, the N.W. promontory of Crete, 700 stadia from Malea, and Cape 
Sammonium 1000 stadia rom Rhodes, (ii. c. iv. § 3,) which was one of 
the best ascertained points of ancient geography. Smith, v. Crete. 



B. X. c. IV. § 3. CRETE. 193 

According to Eudoxus, it is situated in the ^gaean sea, 
but he ought not to have described its situation in that man- 
ner, but have said, that it lies between Cjrenaica and the 
part of Greece comprehended between Sunium and Laconia,^ 
extending in length in the direction from west to east, and 
parallel to these countries ;^ that it is washed on the north by 
the ^gaean and Cretan seas, and on the south by the African, 
which joins the Egyptian sea. 

The western extremity of the island is near Phalasarna ; ^ 
its breadth is about 200 stadia, and divided into two promon- 
tories ; of which the southern is called Criu-Metopon, (or 
Ram's head,) and that on the north, Cimarus.'* The eastern 
promontory is Samonium,^ which does not stretch much fur- 
ther towards the east than Sunium.^ 

3. Sosicrates, who, according to Apollodorus, had an exact 
knowledge of this island, determines its length (not?)'^ to 
exceed 2300 stadia, and its breadth (about 300),^ so that ac- 
cording to Sosicrates the circuit of the island is not more than 
5000 stadia, but Artemidorus makes it 4100. Hieronymus 

' TtiQ 'EWdSoQ Trjg dirb "Eovviov fi^XP'- AaKU)viKrjg. 

' Gossellin observes that the false position assigned to these countries, 
and the contradiction perceptible in the measures in stadia, given by 
Strabo, and above all the impossibility of reconciling them upon one given 
plan, is a proof that the author consulted different histories, and different 
maps, in which the distances were laid down in stadia differing in length. 

^ The ruins are indicated as existing a little to the north of Hagios 
Kurghianis, in the Austrian map. 

* Cimarus is given in Kiepert, as the island Grabusa Agria, at the ex- 
tremity of Cape Buso, and also in the Austrian map. Kramer remarks 
that the promontory Cimarus is mentioned by no other author. Corycus 
on the other hand is placed by Strabo below, § 5, in these parts, although 
the reading is suspicious, and in b. viii. c. v. § 1, and in b. xvii. c. iii. 
§ 22; but the reading again in this last reference is doubtful. Cape 
Cimarus is now C. Buso or Grabusa. 

* In b. ii. c. iv. § 3, it is written Salmonium, (c. Salamoni,) in which 
passage Kramer has retained the spelling of the name, on the ground 
that this form is to be found in Apollonius, Arg. 4, 1693, and Dionys. 
Perieg. 110. Salmone in the Acts, xxvii. 7. 

* C. Colonna. 

' Not in the text of Kramer. Casaubon's conjecture. 

* The words of the text are, TrXarsi dt vtto to fiEyi9og, which Meineke 
translates, " Its width is not in proportion to its length." Kramer says 
that the preposition vtto suggests the omission of the words TtrpaKon'nov 
or TpiaKomojv ttov, and that the words r. fi. are probably introduced 
from the margin, and are otherwise inadmissible. 

VOL. II. O 



194 STRABO. Casaub. 475. 

says, that its length is 2000 stadia, and its breadth irregular, 
and that the circuit would exceed the number of stadia as- 
signed by Artemidorus. Throughout one-third of its length, 
(beginning from the western parts, the island is of a toler- 
able width). ^ Then there is an isthmus of about 100 stadia, 
on the northern shore of which is a settlement, called Amphi- 
malla ; ^ on the southern shore is Phoenix,^ belonging to the 
Lampeis. 

The greatest breadth is in the middle of the island. 

Here again the shores approach, and form an isthmus 
narrower than the former, of about 60 stadia in extent, reckon- 
ing from Minoa,'* in the district of the Lyctii,^ to Thera- 
pytna,^ and the African sea. The city is on the bay. The 
shores then terminate in a pointed promontory, the Samonium, 
looking towards ^gypt and the islands of the Rhodians.'^ 

4. The island is mountainous and woody, but has fertile 
valleys. 

The mountains towards the west are called Leuca, or the 
White Mountains,® not inferior in height to the Taygetum,^ 
and extending in length about 300 stadia. They form a 
ridge, which terminates at the narrow parts (the isthmus). 
In the middle of the island, in the widest part, is (Ida),^^ the 
highest of the mountains tliere. Its compass is about 600 
stadia. It is surrounded by the principal cities. There are 
other mountains equal in height to the White Mountains, some 
of which terminate on the south, others towards the east. 

5. From the Cyrenaean^^ territory to Criu-metopon^^ is a 

* It is impossible to say what words should fill up the hiatus in the 
text, but probably something to this effect, oltto tCjv ecrirfplojv fiepuiv 
dp^afiEvoiQ ri vrjcrog TrXarad tan. Kramer. Groskurd proposes ») vfjcrog 
ai(pvidi(t)g (rrevoxopu, the island suddenly narrows. 

2 On the bay of Armiro. 

' Castel Franco. Acts of Apostles, xxvii. 12. 

* Porto Trano. At the bottom of the bay of Mirabel. 

* Near Lytto. * Girapetra. 

^ By the islands of the Rhodians are meant Case, Nisari, Scarpanto, &c. 

^ Aspra-vuna, or Sfakia. ^ Mt. Penta-Dactylon in the Morea. 

^0 Psiloriti. 

" From what point in the Cyrenaica is not said. From b. viii. c. iii. 
§ 1, it would appear to be Phycus, (Ras al Sem,) but from b. xvii. c. iii. 
§ 20, it would seem to be Apollonias, (Marsa-susa.) the maritime arsenal 
of the Cyrenseans, situated at about 170 stadia to the east of Phycus, and 
80 stadia to the west of Gyrene. 

'2 C. Crio 



B. X. c. IV. § 6, 7. CRETE. 195 

voyage of two days and nights. From Cimarus [to Malea] 
are 700 stadia.^ In the midway is Cythera.^ From the pro- 
montory Samonium^ to ^gypt a ship sails in four days and 
nights, but, according to other writers, in three. Some say 
that it is a voyage of 5000 stadia ; others, of still less than 
this. According to Eratosthenes, the distance from Cyrenaica 
to Criu-Metopon is 2000 stadia, and thence to Peloponnesus 
less than [1000].^ 

6. One language is intermixed with another, says the poet ; 
there are in Crete, 

" Achaei, the brave Eteocretans, Cydones, Dorians divided into three 
bands,^ and the divine Pelasgi." ^ 

Of these people, says Staphylus, the Dorians occupy the 
eastern parts of the island, Cydonians the western, Eteocretans 
the southern, to whom Prasus, a small town, belonged, where 
is the temple of the Dictsean Jupiter ; the other nations, being 
more powerful, inhabited the plains. It is probable that the 
Eteocretans'^ and Cydonians were aboriginal inhabitants, and 
that the others were foreigners, who Andron says came from 
Thessaly, formerly called Doris, but now Hestiaeotis, from 
which country he says the Dorians, who were settled about 
Parnassus, migrated, and founded Erineum, Boeum, and Cy- 
tinium, whence they are called by the poet Trichaices, or tri- 
partite. But the account of Andron is not generally admitted, 
who represents the Tetrapolis Doris as composed of three 
cities, and the metropolis of the Dorians as a colony of Thes- 
salians. The epithet Trichaices^ is understood to be derived 
either from their wearing a triple crest,^ or from having crests 
of hair.^° 

7. There are many cities in Crete, but the largest and 
most distinguished are Cnossus,^^ Gortyna,^^ Cydonia.'^ Both 
Homer and later writers celebrate Cnossus^^ above the rest, 

* Of 700 stadia to a degree, Gossellin. ' Cerigo. 

' The distance from Samonium (Cape Salamone) to Alexandria, in a 
Straight line, is about 5500 stadia of 1111^ to the degree. Gossellin. 

* Gossellin's conjecture, for the number is wanting in the text. 

* TpixaiKiQ. 6 Q(j xix. 175. ^ So also Diod. Sic. b. v. 
' rpixaiKag. » TpiXoplag, '" Tpi\ivovg. 

" The ruins are situated at Makro Teikhos, to the south-east of Can- 
dia, the modern capital. 

'2 II. ii. 646; Od. xix. 178. Hagius Dheka. Pashley. 
" Near Jerami, in the Austrian map. Pashley places it at Khania. 
o 2 



196 STRABO. Casaitb. 476. 

calling it vast, and the palace of Minos. It maintained its 
pre-eminence for a long period. It afterwards lost its ascend- 
ency, and was deprived of many of its customs and privi- 
leges. The superiority was transferred to Gortyna and Lyc- 
tus.^ But it afterwards recovered its ancient rank of the 
capital city. Cnossus lies in a plain, with its ancient circum- 
ference of 30 stadia, between the Lyctian and Gortynian 
territory ; [distant] 200 stadia from Gortyna, and from Lyt- 
tus 120, which the poet^ calls Lyctus. Cnossus is at the dis- 
tance of 25 stadia from the northern sea ; Gortyna 90, and 
Lyctus 80, stadia from the African sea. Cnossus has a marine 
arsenal, Heracleium.^ 

8. Minos, it is said, used as an arsenal Amnisus,"* where is 
a temple of Eileithyia. Cnossus formerly had the name of 
Caeratus, which is the name of the. river ^ which runs beside it. 

Mino»^ is regarded as an excellent legislator, and the first 
who possessed the sovereignty of the sea. He divided the 
island into three portions, in each of which he built a city ; 
Cnossus ****** *^ opposite to Peloponnesus, which 
lies toward the north. 

According to Ephorus, Minos was an imitator of Rhada- 
manthus, an ancient personage, and a most just man. He had 
the same name as his brother, who appears to have been the 
first to civilize the island by laws and institutions, by founding 
cities, and by establishing forms of government. He pre- 
tended to receive from tJupiter the decrees which he promul- 
gated. It was probably in imitation of Rhadamanthus that 
Minos went up to the cave of Jupiter, at intervals of nine 
years, and brought from thence a set of ordinances, which he 
said were the commands of Jove ; for which reason the poet 
thus expresses himself; 

*' There reigned Minos, who every ninth year conversed with the great 
Jupiter." ^ 

• Lytto. 2 II. ii. 647. 

3 Cartero, a maritime town on the river of the same name. 

* At the mouth of the Aposelemi. * Now the Cartero. 

« Pausanias, b. ix. c. 11, says that the ships of Minos were unprovided 
•with sails, which were the subsequent invention of Deedalus. 

' Groskurd proposes to supply the hiatus in the text thus : Cnossus 
[towards the north, inclining to the ^gaean sea, Ph£Estus turned towards 
the south and the African sea, Cydonia in the western part of the island] 
opposite. * Od. xix. 178. 



B. X. c. IV. § 9, 10. CRETE. 197 

Such is the statement of Ephorus ; the ancients on the other 
hand give a different account, and say that he was tyrannical 
and violent, and an exactor of tribute, and speak in the strain 
of tragedy about the Minotaur, the Labyrinth, and the adven- 
tures of Theseus and Dsedalus. 

9. It is difficult to determine which is right. There is 
another story also not generally received ; some persons af- 
firming that Minos was a foreigner, others that he was a 
native of the island. Homer seems to support the latter 
opinion, when he says, that 

" Minos, the guardian of Crete, was the first offspring of Jupiter." ' 

It is generally admitted with regard to Crete that in an- 
cient times it was governed by good laws, and induced the 
wisest of the Greeks to imitate its form of government, and 
particularly the Lacedaemonians, as Plato shows in his " Laws," 
and Ephorus has described in his work " Europe." After- 
wards there was a change in the government, and for the 
most part for the worse. For the Tyrrheni, who chiefly in- 
fested our sea, were followed by the Cretans, who succeeded 
to the haunts and piratical practices of the former people, and 
these again afterwards were subject to the devastations of 
the Cilicians. But the Romans destroyed them all after the 
conquest of Crete,^ and demolished the piratical strongholds 
of the Cilicians. At present Cnossus has even a colony of 
Romans. 

10. So much then respecting Cnossus, a city to which I 
am no stranger ; but owing to the condition of human affairs, 
their vicissitudes and accidents, the connexion and inter- 
course that subsisted between ourselves and the city is at an 
end. Which may be thus explained. Dorylaiis, a military 
tactician, a friend of Mithridates Euergetes, was appointed, 
on account of his experience in military affairs, to levy a body 
of foreigners, and was frequently in Greece and Thrace, and 
often in the company of persons who came from Crete, before 
the Romans were in possession of the island. A great mul- 
titude of mercenary soldiers was collected there, from whom 

1 II. xiii. 450. 

* The Cretan war was conducted by Q. Metellus, proconsul, Avho from 
thence obtained the cognomen of Creticus. 



198 STRABO. Casaub. 478. 

even the bands of pirates were recruited. During the stay 
of Dorylaiis in the island, a war happened to break out be- 
tween the Cnossians and the Gortynians. He was appointed 
general by the Cnossians, and having finished the war speed- 
ily and successfully, he obtained the highest honours. A 
short time afterwards, being informed that Euergetes had been 
treacherously put to death by his courtiers at Sinope, and 
that he was succeeded in the government by his wife and 
children, he abandoned everything there, remained at Cnos- 
sus, and married a Macedonian woman of the name of Ste- 
rope, by whom he had two sons, Lagetas and Stratarchas, 
(the latter I myself saw when in extreme old age,) and one 
daughter. Of the two sons of Euergetes, he who was sur- 
named Eupator succeeded to the throne when he was eleven 
years of age ; Dorylaiis, the son of Philetaerus, was his foster- 
brother. Philetserus was the brother of Dorylaiis the Tac- 
tician. The king had been so much pleased with his intimacy 
with Dorylaiis when they lived together as children, that on 
attaining manhood he not only promoted Dorylaiis to the high- 
est honours, but extended his regard to his relations and 
sent for them from Cnossus. At this time Lagetas and his 
brother had lost their father, and were themselves grown up 
to manhood. They quitted Cnossus, and came to Mithridates. 
My mother's mother was the daughter of Lagetas. While 
he enjoyed prosperity, they also prospered ; but upon his 
downfal (for he was detected in attempting to transfer the 
kingdom to the Eomans with a view to his own appointment 
to the sovereignty) the affairs of Cnossus were involved in his 
ruin and disgrace ; and all intercourse with the Cnossians, 
who themselves had experienced innumerable vicissitudes of 
fortune, was suspended. 

So much then respecting Cnossus. 

11. After Cnossus, the city Gortyna seems to have held 
the second place in rank and power. For when these cities 
acted in concert they held in subjection all the rest of the in- 
habitants, and when they were at variance there was discord 
throughout the island ; and whichever party Cydonia espoused, 
to them she was a most important accession. 

The city of the Gortynians lies in a plain, and was perhaps 
anciently protected by a wall, as Homer also intimates, 



B. X. c. IV. § 12. CRETE. 199 

** and Gortyna, a walled city ; " • 
it lost afterwards its walls, which were destroyed from their 
foundation, and it has remained ever since without walls ; for 
Ptolemy Philopator, who began to build a wall, proceeded with 
it to the distance only of about 8 stadia. Formerly the building 
occupied a considerable compass, extending nearly 50 stadia. 
It is distant from the African sea, and from Leben its mart, 
90 stadia. It has also another arsenal, Matalum.^ It is dis- 
tant from that 130 stadia. The river Lethaeus^ flows through 
the whole of the city. 

12. Leucocomas and Euxynthetus his erastes (or lover), 
whom Theophrastus mentions in his discourse on Love, were 
natives of Leben.^ One of the tasks enjoined Euxynthetus 
by Leucocomas was this, according to Theophrastus, to 
bring him his dog from Prasus.^ The Prasii border upon 
the Lebenii at the distance of 60 stadia from the sea, and 
from Gortyn 180. We have said that Prasus was subject to 
the Eteocretans, and that the temple of the Dictsean Jupiter 
was there. For Dicte^ is near ; not, as Aratus'^ alleges, near 
Ida ; since Dicte is distant 1000 stadia from Mount Ida, and 
situated at that distance from it towards the rising sun ; and 
100 stadia from the promontory Samonium. Prasus was 
situated between the promontory Samonium, and the Cherrho- 
nesus, at the distance of 60 stadia from the sea. It was razed 
by the Hierapytnii. He says, too, that Callimachus® is not 
right in asserting that Britomartis, in her escape from the 
violence offered by Minos, leaped from Dicte among the nets 
of the fishermen {^Iktvo), and that hence she had the name of 
Dictynna from the Cydoniatae, and the mountain that of 

' II. ii. 646. ' Letima or Matala, Cape Theodosia. 

' The Maloniti or Messara. * On C. Lionda. 

' Strabo must have confounded two totally distinct cities, (Priansus 
and Prasus,) when he spoke of them under a common name, and assigned 
them a single situation, both close to Mount Dikte, and at the same time 
continuous with the Lebenians, whose city was three days' journey from 
the mountain. Pashley, Travels in Crete, vol. i. p. 290. Kramer does not 
agree with Pashley, and, until further information shall be obtained, rests 
upon the authority of Boeckh, C. I. No. 2556, who affirms that there is 
some doubt about the name Priansus, which is only found on coins and 
inscriptions; both Hoeck (v. Kreta I. p. 413) and Boeckh (C. I. ii. p. 405) 
consider Priansus and Prasus as the same place. 

^ M. Silia. 7 ph^n. 33. 

* Callim. Hymn to Diana, 195. 



200 STRABO. Casattb. 479. 

Dicte. For Cydonia is not at all situated in the neighbour- 
hood of these places, but lies at the western extremity of the 
island. The mountain Tityrus ^ belongs to the Cydonian terri- 
tory ; upon it is situated a temple, not called Dictsean, but 
Dictynnsean. 

13. Cydonia is situated on the sea, fronting Laconia, at aij 
equal distance from both Cnossus and Gortyn, about 800 
stadia, and from Aptera 80, and from the sea in this quarter 
40 stadia. Cisainus^ is the naval arsenal of Aptera.^ The 
Polyrrhenii border upon the Cydoniatae towards the west ; in 
their territory is the temple of Dictynna. They are at the 
distance of about 30 stadia from the sea, and 60 from Phala- 
sarna. Formerly they lived in villages ; then Achaeans and 
Laconians settled there together, and fortified with a wall a 
strong site fronting the south. 

14. Of the three cities founded by Minos, the last, which 
was Phgestus,"* was razed by the Gortynians ; it was at the 
distance of 60 stadia from Gortyn, 20 from the sea, and from 
Matalum, the arsenal, 40 stadia. They who razed the city 
possess the territory. Rhytium also together with Phsestus 
belongs to the Gortynians, 

"both Phajstus aAd Rhytium."* 
Epimenides, who performed lustrations by the means of his 
poetry, is said to have been a native of Phaestus. Olyssa 
(Lisses ?) also belonged to the territory of Phaestus. 

Cherrhonesus,® as it is called, is the arsenal of Lyttus or 
(Lyctus), which we have before mentioned ; on the former is 
the temple of Britomartis. 

Miletus and Lycastus, the cities which were enumerated 
together with Lyctus, no longer exist ; but the territory, after 
they had razed the city (Lyctus), was partitioned among 
Lyctians and Cnossians. 

15. As the poet in one place speaks of Crete as having a 
hundred, and in another ninety, cities, Ephorus says, that ten 
were founded in later times after the Trojan war by the Dori- 

* Tityrus is the ridge of mountains which terminates in Cape Spada. 

* Kisamos. 

' See Pashley, Travels in Crete, vol. i. c. 4, who places Aptera at 
Palaeocastron, on the south of the bay of Siedh and Polyrrhenia, at the 
Palaeocastron, to the south of the Gulf of Kisamos. 

* Hodyitra. ^ 11. ii. 648. ^ Episcopiano. 



B. X. c. IV. § 16. CRETE. 201 

ans, who accompanied Althoemenes the Argive, and that 
hence Ulysses speaks of its ninety cities. This account is 
probable. But others say, that the ten were razed by the 
enemies of Idomeneus ; but the poet does not say that Crete 
had a hundred cities at the time of the Trojan war, but in his 
own age, for he speaks in his own person ; but if the words 
had been those of some person then living, as those in the 
Odyssey, where Ulysses says, Crete had ninety cities, they 
might have been properly understood in this manner. But 
even if we admit this, the subsequent verses will not be ex- 
empt from objection. For neither at the time of the expe- 
dition, nor after the return of Idomeneus, is it probable that 
these cities were destroyed by his enemies, for the poet says, 

*' but Idomeneus brought back all his companions who had survived the 
war to Crete ; the sea had not deprived him of any of them ; " • 

for he would have mentioned such a misfortune. Ulysses in- 
deed might not have been acquainted with the destruction of 
these cities, for he had not had any intercourse with any of the 
Greeks either during or after his wanderings ; but (Nestor), 
who had been the companion of Idomeneus in the expedition 
and in his escape from shipwreck, could not be ignorant of 
what had happened at home during the expedition and before 
his return. But he must certainly have been aware of what 
occurred after his return. For if he and all his companions 
escaped, he returned so powerful that their enemies were not 
in a position to deprive them of ten cities. 

Such then is the general description of the country of Crete. 

16. With respect to the form of government, which Epho- 
rus has described at large, it will be sufficient to give a cur- 
sory account of the principal parts. The law-giver, says 
Ephorus, seems to lay, as the foundation of his constitution, 
the greatest good that states can enjoy, namely, liberty ; for it 
is this alone which makes the property of every kind which 
a man possesses his own ; in a state of slavery it belongs to 
the governor, and not to the governed. The liberty also 
which men enjoy must be guarded. Unanimity ensues, when 
the dissensions that arise from covetousness and luxury ^ are 

» Od. iii. 191. 

2 Sordid avarice and covetousness have taken such hold upon them, that 
among the Cretans alone, of all nations, nothing in the form of gain is 
considered dishonourable. Polybius, b. vi. 



202 STRABO Casaub. 481. 

removed. Now where all live temperately and frugally, nei- 
ther envy, nor injuries, nor hatred have place among equals. 
Whence the young were enjoined to repair to the Agelae, and 
those of mature age to assemble at the Syssitia, or common 
meals, called Andreia, in order that the poorer sort, who were 
fed at the public charge, might partake of the same fare as 
the rich. 

With a view that courage, and not fear, should predominate, 
they were accustomed from childhood to the use of arms, and 
to endure fatigue. Hence they disregarded heat and cold, 
rugged and steep roads, blows received in gymnastic exer- 
cises and in set battles. 

They practised archery, and the dance in armour, which 
the Curetes first invented, and was afterwards perfected by 
Pyrrhichus, and called after him Pyrrhiche. Hence even their 
sports were not without their use in their training for war. 
With the same intention they used the Cretan measures in 
their songs ; the tones of these measures are extremely loud ; 
they were invented by Thales, to whom are ascribed the 
paeans and other native songs and many of their wsages. 
They adopted a military dress also, and shoes, and considered 
armour as the most valuable of all presents. 

17. Some, he says, alleged that many of the institutions 
supposed to be Cretan were of Lacedaemonian origin ; but the 
truth is, they were invented by the former, but perfected by the 
Spartans. The Cretans, when their cities, and particularly 
Cnossus, were ravaged, neglected military affairs, but some 
usages were more observed by the Lyttii and Gortynii, and 
some other small cities, than by the Cnossians. Those per- 
sons, who maintain the priority of the Laconian institutions, 
adduce as evidence of this those of the Lyttii, because as colon- 
ists they would retain the customs of the parent state. Other- 
wise, it would be absurd for those, who lived under a better 
form of constitution and government, to be imitators of a 
worse. But this is not correct. For we ought not to form 
conjectures respecting the ancient from the present state of 
things, for each has undergone contrary changes. The Cre- 
tans were formerly powerful at sea, so that it was a pro- 
verbial saying addressed to those who pretended to be ignor- 
ant of what they knew, " a Cretan, and not know the sea ;" 
but at present they have abandoned nautical afiairs. 



B. X. c. IV. § 18, 19. CRETE. 203 

Nor did it follow necessarily that, because there were some 
cities in Crete colonized by Spartans, they should continue 
to observe Spartan usages, since many of the cities of colonists 
do not preserve the customs of the mother country ; and there 
are many cities in Crete, the inhabitants of which are not 
colonists, and yet have the same usages as those that have re- 
ceived colonies. 

18. Lycurgus, the Spartan legislator, he says, was five 
generations later than Althaemenes, who conducted the colony 
into Crete. He is said by historians to have been the son of 
Cissus, who founded Argos ^ about the same time that Procles 
was engaged in establishing a colony at Sparta. It is also 
generally admitted that Lycurgus was the sixth in descent 
from Procles.2 Copies do not precede the models, nor mo- 
dern precede ancient things. The usual kind of dancing 
practised among the Lacedaemonians, the measures, and the 
pasans sung according to a certain mood, and many other 
usages, are called among them Cretan, as if they came from 
Crete. But among the ancient customs, those relative to the 
administration of the state have the same designations as in 
Crete,^ as the council of Gerontes'* and that of the Knights,^ 
except that in Crete the knights had horses ; whence it is 
conjectured, that the council of Knights in Crete is more 
ancient, since the origin of the appellation is preserved. But 
the Spartan knight did not keep a horse. They who per- 
form the same functions as the Cosmi hi Crete, have the dif- 
ferent title of Ephori [in Sparta]. The Syssitia, or common 
meal, is even at present called Andreia among the Cretans ; 
but among the Spartans they did not continue to call it by its 
former name, as it is found in the poet Alcman ; 

" In festivals and in joyous assemblies of the Andreia, it is lit to begin 
the paean in honour of the guests." 

19. The occasion of the journey of Lycurgus to Crete is 
said by the inhabitants to be as follows. The elder brother 
of Lycurgus was Polydectes, who, at his death, left his wife 
pregnant. Lycurgus reigned in place of his brother till the 

• His father, Temenus, was the founder of Argos. See b. viii. 
2 There is, however, diversity of opinions on the subject. 

^ Aristotle, Politics, b. ii. c. 10, where he compares the Cretan with 
the Lacedaemonian constitution. 

* tCjv yEpovTtov. ^ iTnrscjv. 



204 STRABO. Casaub. 483. 

birth of a son. He then became the guardian of the child, 
who was heir to the kingdom. Some one said to him in- 
sultingly, he was sure Lycurgus would be king. Suspecting 
that by this speech he might be accused of contriving a plot 
against the child, and fearing that, if the child should die by 
any accident, his enemies might impute its death to him, he 
departed to Crete. This is said to have been the cause of his 
journey. Upon his arrival in Crete he became acquainted with 
Thales, the lyric poet and legislator. He learnt from this per- 
son the plan adopted by Rhadamanthus in former times, and 
afterwards by Minos in promulgating their laws, so as to pro- 
cure a belief that they proceeded from Jupiter. He was also 
in ^gypt, and obtained information respecting the laws and 
customs of that country.* According to some writers, he met 
at Chios with Homer, who was living there, and then re- 
turned to his own country, where he found Charilaus, the son 
of his brother Polydectes, upon the throne. He then began to 
frame laws, repairing to the god at Delphi, and bringing thence 
ordinances, as Minos brought his from the cave of Jupiter.^ 
The greater part of these ordinances were similar to those of 
Minos. 

20. The following are the principal of the laws of Crete, 
which Ephorus has given in detail. 

All the Cretans, who are selected at the same time from 
the troop (ayt'Xr?) of youths, are compelled to marry at once. 
They do not however take the young women whom they 
have married immediately to their homes, until they are quali- 
fied to administer household affairs. 

The woman's dower, if she has brothers, is half of the bro- 
ther's portion. 

The children are taught to read, to chaunt songs taken 
from the laws, and some kinds of music. 

While they are still very young they are taken to the Sys- 
sitia, called Andreia. They sit on the ground, eating their food 
together, dressed in mean garments, which are not changed 
in winter or summer. They wait upon themselves and on the 
men. Both those of the same and those of different messes 
have battles with one another. A trainer of boys presides 
over each Andreion. As they grow older they are formed into 

' According to Plutarch, with the poems of Homer. 
2 Herod, i. 65. 



B. X. c. IV. § 21. CRETE. 205 

('AytXat) or troops of youths. The most illustrious and power- 
ful of the youths form Agelae, each individual assembling to- 
gether as many as he can collect. The governor of the troop 
is generally the father of the youth who has assembled them 
together, and has the power of taking them to hunt and to 
exercise themselves in running, and of punishing the disobe- 
dient. They are maintained at the public charge. 

On certain set days troop encounters troop, marching in 
time to the sound of the pipe and lyre, as is their custom in 
actual war. They inflict blows, some with the hand, and 
some even with iron weapons. 

21. They have a peculiar custom with respect to their at- 
tachments. They do not influence the objects of their love 
by persuasion, but have recourse to violent abduction. The 
lover apprizes the friends of the youth, three or more days 
beforehand, of his intention to carry off" the object of his affec- 
tion. It is reckoned a most base act to conceal the youth, or 
not to permit him to walk about as usual, since it would be 
an acknowledgment that the youth was unworthy of such a 
lover. But if they are informed that the ravisher is equal or 
superior in rank, or other circumstances, to the youth, they 
pursue and oppose the former slightly, merely in conformity 
with the custom. They then willingly allow him to carry oif 
the youth. If however he is an unworthy person, they take 
the youth from him. This show of resistance does not end, 
till the youth is received into the Andreium to which the 
ravisher belongs. They do not regard as an object of affec- 
tion a youth exceedingly handsome, but him who is distin- 
guished for courage and modesty. The lover makes the youth 
presents, and takes him away to whatever place he likes. 
The persons present at the abduction accompany them, and 
having passed two months in feasting, and in the chase, (for 
it is not permitted to detain the youth longer,) they return to 
the city. The youth is dismissed with presents, which con- 
sist of a military dress, an ox, and a drinking cup ; the last 
are prescribed by law, and besides these many other very 
costly gifts, so that the friends contribute each their share in 
order to diminish the expense. 

The youth sacrifices the ox to Jupiter, and entertains at a 
feast those who came down with him from the mountains. 
He then declares concerning the intercourse with the lover. 



206 STRABO. Casaub. 484. 

whether it took place with his consent or not, since the law 
allows him, if any violence is used in the abduction, to insist 
upon redress, and set him free from his engagement with the 
lover. But for the beautiful and high-born not to have 
lovers is disgraceful, since this neglect would be attributed to 
a bad disposition. 

The parastathentes, for this is the name which they give 
to those youths who have been carried away, enjoy certain 
honours. At races and at festivals they have the principal 
places. They are permitted to wear the stole, which distin- 
guishes them from other persons, and which has been pre- 
sented to them by their lovers ; and not only at that time, but 
in mature age, they appear in a distinctive dress, by which 
each individual is recognised as Kleinos, for this name is 
given to the object of their attachment, and that of Philetor 
to the lov^r. 

These then are the usages respecting attachments. 

22. They elect ten Archons. On matters of highest mo- 
ment they have recourse to the counsel of the Gerontes, as 
they are called. They admit into this council those who 
have been thought worthy of the office of Cosmi, and who 
were otherwise persons of tried worth. 

I considered the form of government among the Cretans as 
worthy of description, on account both of its peculiarity and 
its fame. Few of these institutions are now in existence, and 
the administration of affairs is chiefly conducted according to 
the orders of the Romans, as is the case also in their other 
provinces. 



CHAPTER V. 



1. The islands about Crete are Thera,^ the capital of the 
Cyrenseans, and a colony of the Lacedasmonians ; and near 
Thera is Anaphe,^ in which is the temple of Apollo JEgletes. 
Callimachus speaks of it in one place, thus, 

' Anciently Calliste, Herod., now Santorino, a corruption of Santa 
Irene, to whom it was dedicated. 
' Nanphio, or Anafi. 



B. X. c. V. § 2. CRETE. 207 

" And iEglete Anaphe, close to the Lacedaemonian Thera ; " 
and in another, he mentions Thera only, 

"Mother of my country, celebrated for its fine breed of horses." 

Thera is a long island, about 200 stadia in circumference. It 
lies opposite to the island Dia,^ towards the Cnossian Hera- 
cleium. It is distant about 700 stadia from Crete. Near it 
are Anaphe and Therasia.^ The little island los^ is distant 
from the latter about 100 stadia. Here according to some 
authors the poet Homer was buried.^ In going from los to- 
wards the west are Sicenus ^ and Lagusa,^ and Pholegandrus,'^ 
which Aratus calls the iron island, on account of its rocks. 
Near these islands is Cimolus,^ whence is obtained the Cimo- 
lian earth. From Cimolus Siphnus^ is visible. To this 
island is applied the proverb, " a Siphnian bone (astragalus)," 
on account of its insignificance. Still nearer, both to Cimo- 
lus and Crete, is Melos,^^ more considerable than these. It is 
distant from the Hermionic promontory, the Scyllaeum,^^ 700 
stadia, and nearly as many from the Dictynnaean promontory. 
The Athenians formerly despatched an army to Melos,^^ and 
put to death the inhabitants from youth upwards. 

These islands are situated in the Cretan sea. Delos,^^ the 
Cyclades about it, and the Sporades adjacent to these, belong 
rather to the ^g£ean gea. To the Sporades also are to be re- 
ferred the islands about Crete, which I have already men- 
tioned. 

2. The city of Delos is in a plain. Delos contains the tem- 
ple of Apollo, and the Latoum, or temple of Latona. The 
Cynthus,*^ a naked and rugged mountain, overhangs the city. 

^ Standia. ^ Therasia, on the west of Santorino. 

' Nio. * According to Herodotus, in the Life of Homer. 

^ Sikino, anciently CEnoe. Pliny iv. 12. 

• Cardiodissa, or Cardiana. ' Policandro. 

* Argentiere. Cretae plura genera. Ex iis Cimoliae duo ad medicos 
pertinentia, candidum et ad purpurissimum inclinans. Pliny, b. v. c. 17. 
Cretosaque rura Cimoli. Ovid. Met. vii. 464. But from Aristophanes, 
the Frogs, it would appear to have been a kind of fullers' earth. 

® Siphanto, anciently also Meropia and Acis. There were once gold 
and silver mines in it, which were destroyed by inundation. There is 
also another proverb, which alluded to its poverty, " a Siphnian pledge," 
^i(pviog appajSojv. Herodotus speaks of its being once the most wealthy 
of the islands, iii, 57. 

'0 Milo. " Cape Skylli. « Thucyd. b. v. c. lib, 116. 

" Dhiles. " Thermia. Hence Apollo Cynthius. 



208 STRABO. Casatjb. 485. 

The In opus, ^ not a large river, for the island is small, flows 
through it. Anciently, even from the heroic times, this 
island has been held in veneration on account of the divinities 
worshipped here. Here, according to the fable, Latona was 
relieved from the pains of labour, and gave birth to Apollo 
and Diana. 

*' Before this time," (says Pindar,'^) " Delos was carried about by the 
waves, and by winds blowing from every quarter, but when the daughter 
of Coeus set her foot upon it, who was then suffering the sharp pangs of 
approaching child-birth, at that instant four upright columns, resting on 
adamant, sprang from the depths of the earth and retained it fast on the 
rugged rock ; there she brought forth, and beheld her happy offspring." 

The islands lying about it, called Cyclades, gave it celebrity, 
since they were in the habit of sending at the public charge, 
as a testimony of respect, sacred delegates, (Theori,) sacrifices, 
and bands of virgins ; they also repaired thither in great 
multitudes to celebrate festivals.^ 

3. Originally, there were said to be twelve Cyclades, but 
many others were added to them. Artemidorus enumerates 
(fifteen ?) where he is speaking of the island Helena,'* and 
of which he says that it extends from Thoricus ^ to Sunium,^ 
and is about 60 stadia in length ; it is from this island, he 
says, the Cyclades, as they are called, begin. He names 
Ceos,^ as the nearest island to Helena, and next to this Cyth- 
nus, Seriphus,^ Melos, Siphnus, Cimolus, Prepesinthus,^ Olia- 
rus,^^ and besides these Pares,'' Naxos,'^ Syros,'^ Myconus,''* 
Tenos,'^ Andros,'® Gyarus.''^ The rest I consider as belong- 
ing to the Twelve, but not Prepesinthus, Oliarus, and Gyarus. 
When I put in at the latter island I found a small village in- 
habited by fishermen. When we left it we took in a fisher- 
man, deputed from the inhabitants to go to Caesar, who was 
at Corinth on his way to celebrate his triumph after the vic- 
tory at Actium.'* He told his fellow-passengers, that he was 

* Mentioned in b. vi. c. ii. § 4, as connected with the Nile. Bryant, 
Mytho. V. i. p. 206, derives the name from Ain Opus, The fountain of 
the Serpent, i. e. Python. 

^ Boeckh, Fragm. Pind. 58. ii. 2, p. 587. 

^ Thucyd. iii. 104. * Isola Longa, or Macronisi. 

* It was situated in the bay of Mandri. « C. Colonna. ' Zia. 
^ Serpho. * Polino. *" Antiparos. " Bara. '^ Naxia. 
" Syra. "« Myconi. '* Tino. »« Andro. 

" Jura. Pliny, viii. 29, says the inhabitants were driven from the island 
by mice. '* b. c. 31. 



B. X. c. V. § 4, 0. THE CYCLADES. 209 

deputed to apply for an abatement of the tribute, for they 
were required to pay 150 drachmae, when it was with diffi- 
culty they could pay 100. 

Aratus,* in his Details, intimates how poor they were ; 

" Latona, thou art shortly going to pass by me [an insignificant is- 
land'] like to the iron-bound Pholegandrus, or to unhappy Gyarus. 

4. Although Delos^ was so famous, yet it became still more 
so, and flourished after the destruction of Corinth by the 
Romans.^ For the merchants resorted thither, induced by 
the immunities of the temple, and the convenience of its har- 
bour. It lies favourably'* for those who are sailing from 
Italy and Greece to Asia. The general festival held there 
serves the purposes of commerce, and the Romans particularly 
I'requented it even before the destruction of Corinth.^ The 
Athenians, after having taken the island, paid equal attention 
to the aifairs both of religion and of commerce. But the 
generals^ of Mithridates, and the tyrant, "^ who had occasioned 
the defection of (Athens from the Romans), ravaged it en- 
tirely. The Romans received the island in a desolate state 
on the departure of the king to his own country ; and it has 
continued in an impoverished condition to the present time.^ 
The Athenians are now in possession of it. 

o. Rheneia^ is a small desert island 4 stadia from Delos, 
where are the sepulchral monuments of the Delians. For it 
is not permitted to bury the dead in Delos, nor to burn a 

^ The title (which has been much questioned by critics) of this lost 
work of Aratus appears to have been, from this passage, Td Kara. XtirTov, 
which Latin translators have rendered, Minuta, or Details. Casaubon is 
of opinion that it is the same as referred to by Callimachus, under the 
title 'Pr}(TtiQ XsTrrai, Clever Sayings. Ernest, ad Callim. Ep. 29. T. 1. p. 
333. The translation of the lines quoted follows the corrections of Coray. 

2 In the middle of the Cyclades, and by far the most remarkable, is 
Delos, celebrated for the temple of Apollo, and for its commerce. Pliny 
iv. 12. 

3 Under L. Mummius, b. c. 146. * Thucyd. i. 36. 

5 Kai oTe avvtarrfKH r) KopivQog. * Archelaiis and Metrophanes. 

7 Aristion, b. c. 87. 

8 Pausanias, viii. 33, § 2, (writing in the time of Hadrian,) says of 
Delos, that with the exception of the persons who came from Athens, 
for the purpose of protecting the temple and to perform the Delian cere- 
monies, it was deserted, 

^ Rhena, called also Dhiles ; but it is the largest of the two islands now 
bearing that name. Pliny says it was anciently called also Celadussa, 
from the noise of the waves, KtKaStiv. 

VOL. II. p 



210 STRABO. Casatjb. 486. 

dead body there. It is not permitted even to keep a dog in 
Delos. 

Formerly it had the name of Ortygia.^ 

6. Ceos'^ once contained lour cities. Two remain, lulls 
and Carthae, to -which the inhabitants of the others were 
transferred ; those of Poeeessa to Carthae, and those of Cores- 
sia to lulls. Simonides the lyric poet, and Bacchylides his 
nephew, and after their times Erasistratus the physician, and 
Ariston the Peripatetic philosopher, the imitator of Bion,^ the 
Borysthenite, were natives of this city. 

There was an ancient law among these people, mentioned 
by Menander. 

" Phanias, that is a good law of the Ceans ; who cannot Hve comfortably 
(or well), let him not live miserably (or ill)."* 

For the law, it seems, ordained that those above sixty years 
old should be compelled to drink hemlock, in order that there 
might be sufficient food for the rest. It is said that once 
when they were besieged by the Athenians, a decree was 
passed to the effect that the oldest persons, fixing the age, 
sliould be put to death, and that the besiegers retired in con- 
sequence. 

The city lies on a mountain, at a distance from the sea of 
about 25 stadia. Its arsenal is the place on which Coressia 
was built, which does not contain the population even of a 
village. Near the Coressian territory and Poeeessa is a tem- 
ple of Apollo Sminthius. But between the temple and the 
ruins of Poeeessa is the temple of Minerva Nedusia, built by 
Nestor, on his return from Troy. The river Elixus runs 
around the territory of Coressia. 

7. After Ceos are Naxos^ and Andros,^ considerable 
islands, and Paros, the birth-place of the poet Archilochus. 
Thasos'*' was founded by Parians, and Parium,^ a city in the 
Propontis. In this last place there is said to be an altar 
worthy of notice, each of whose sides is a stadium in length. 

* Virg. ^n. ill. 124, Linquimus Ortygiae portus pelagoque volamus. 
- Zia. Pinguia Caeae, 

Ter centum nivei tondent dumeta juvenci. 

Virg. Geor. i. 14, 15. 
^ Of Olbia or Olbiopolis, on the Borysthenes or Bog. 

* 6 jxri Swafxevog i^fjv KaXaii; ov Z,y kukuiq. 

* Naxia. ^ Audro. ^ Taschos. ^ Kemars. 



B. X. c. V. § 8—12. THE CYCLADES. 211 

In Paros is obtained the Parian marble, the best adapted for 
statuary work. ^ 

8. Here also is Syros, (the first syllable is long,) where 
Pherecydes the son of Babys was born. The Athenian 
Pherecydes is younger than the latter person. The poet seems 
to have mentioned this island under the name of Syria ; 

" above Ortygia is an island called Syria." ^ 

9. Myconus ^ is an island beneath which, according to the 
mythologists, lie the last of the giants, destroyed by Hercules ; 
whence the proverb, " all under one Myconus," applied to 
persons who collect under one title things that are disjoined 
by nature. Some also call bald persons Mioonians, because 
baldness is frequent among the inhabitants of the island."* 

10. Seriphos^ is the island where is laid the scene of the 
fable of Dictys, who drew to land in his net the chest in 
which were enclosed Perseus and his mother Danae, who 
were thrown into the sea by order of Acrisius, the father 
of Danae. There it is said Perseus was brought up, and 
to this island he brought the head of the Gorgon ; he ex- 
hibited it to the Seriphians, and turned them all into stone. 
This he did to avenge the wrongs of his mother, because their 
king Polydectes, with the assistance of his subjects, desired 
to make her his wife by force. Seriphus abounds so much 
with rocks, that they say in jest that it was the work of the 
Gorgon. 

1 1. Tenos^ has a small city, but there is, in a grove beyond 
it, a large temple of Neptune worthy of notice. It contains 
large banqueting rooms, a proof of the great multitudes that 
repair thither from the neighbouring places to celebrate a feast, 
and to perform a common sacrifice in honour of Neptune. 

12. To the Sporades belongs Amorgos,"^ the birth-place of 

^ The marble was taken from Mt. Marpessus. Pliny xxxvi. 5 ; Virg, 
iEn. 6, Marpesia cautes. 

2 Od. XV. 402. 3 Myconi. 

* Myconi calva omnis juventus. Terence, Hecy. a. 3, s. 4; Pliny, 
b. xi. c. 37. 

* It was an erroneous opinion entertained by the ancients, that frogs 
did not croak in this island (Sirpho) ; hence the proverb, a Seriphian frog, 
(3aTpaxog 'S.epi(pioQ. 

^ Tine. Anciently it had also the names Hydrussa and Ophiussa. 
^ Amorgu. 

p 2 



212 STRABO. Casaub. 488. 

Simonides, the Iambic poet; Lebinthus^ also, and Leria 
(Lero.s).^ Phocylides refers to Leria in these lines ; 

"the Lerians are bad, not some, but all, except Procles; but Procles is 
a Lerian ; " 

for the Lerians are reputed to have bad dispositions. 

13. Near these islands are Patmos,^ and the Corassiae* 
islands, situated to the west of Icaria,^ as the latter is with 
respect to Samos. 

Icaria has no inhabitants, but it has pastures, of which the 
Samians avail themselves. Notwithstanding its condition it 
is famous, and gives the name of Icarian to the sea in front 
of it, in which are situated Samos, Cos, and the islands just 
mentioned,^ the Corassiae, Patmos, and Leros"^ [in Samos is the 
mountain the Cerceteus, more celebrated than the Ampelus, 
which overhangs the city of the Samians].^ Continuous to 
the Icarian sea, towards the south, is the Carpathian sea, and 
the -Egyptian sea to this ; to the west are the Cretan and 
African seas. 

14. In the Carpathian sea, between Cos, Rhodes, and Crete, 
are situated many of the Sporades, as Astypalaea,^ Telos,^^ 
Chalcia,^^ and those mentioned by Homer in the Catalogue. 

" They who occupied Nisyrus, Crapathus, Casus, and Cos, 
The city of Eurypylus, and the Calydnas islands." '^ 

Except Cos, and Rhodes, of which we shall speak hereafter, 

' Levita. * Lero. ^ Patmo. 

* The Fumi ; called in b. xiv. c. i. § 13, Corsiae. ^ Nicaria. 

' According to the enumeration here made by Strabo, of the islands 
comprehended in the Icarian sea, it appears that in his opinion none of 
the islands situated to the north of Cos belonged to the Carpathian sea ; 
for according to his own statement, which immediately follows, the Car- 
pathian sea to the north was bounded by the Icarian sea. 

7 All the manuscripts and all editions give Aspog. Is the island spoken 
of in this passage the same as the one mentioned just above by the name 
of Leria? Pliny, Hist. Nat. b. iv. 23, appears to have been acquainted 
with two islands bearing the name of Leros. One, from the position he 
assigns to it, appears to be the one Strabo above speaks of under the 
name of Leria ; but the second Leros of Pliny, b. v. § 36, must be placed 
on the coast of Caria. Strabo appears to have entertained nearly the 
same ideas, for we shall hereafter (b. xiv. c. i. § 6) see him give the name 
of Leros to an island situated in the neighbourhood of Icaria ; and below 
(§ 19) he cites also a Leros, which would seem to have been in the neigh- 
bourhood of the southern extremity of Caria. 

* Probably internolated. ® Istanpolia, or Stanpalia. 
'» Tino. " Carchi. '« II. ii. G76. 



B, X. c. V. § 15—19. THE SPORADES. CRETE. 213 

we place the rest among the Sporades, and we mention them 
here although they do not lie near Europe, but Asia, because 
the course of* my work induces me to include the Sporades 
in the description of Crete and of the Cyclades. 

We shall traverse in the description of Asia the consider- 
able islands adjacent to that country, as Cyprus, Rhodes, Cos, 
and those situated on the succeeding line of coast, Samos, 
Chios, Lesbos, and Tenedos. At present we are to describe 
the remaining islands of the Sporades, which deserve mention. 

15. Astypalsea lies far out at sea, and contains a city. 
Telos, which is long, high, and narrow, in circumference 

about 140 stadia, with a shelter for vessels, extends along the 
Cnidian territory. 

Chalcia is distant from Telos 80, from Carpathus 400 stadia, 
and about double this number from Astypalaea. It has a set- 
tlement of the same name, a temple of Apollo, and a harbour. 

16. Nisyrus lies to the north of Telos, at the distance of 
about 60 stadia, which is its distance also from Cos. It is 
round, lofty, and rocky, and has abundance of mill-stone, 
whence the neighbouring people are well supplied with stones 
for grinding. It contains a city of the same name, a harbour, 
hot springs, and a temple of Neptune. Its circumference is 
80 stadia. Near it are small islands, called the islands of the 
Nisyrians. Nisyrus is said to be a fragment broken off from 
Cos ; a story is also told of Neptune, that when pursuing Poly- 
botes,. one of the giants, he broke off with his trident a piece 
of the island Cos, and hurled it at him, and that the missile 
became the island Nisyrus, with the giant lying beneath it. 
But some say that the giant lies beneath Cos. 

17. Carpathus, which the poet calls Crapathus, is lofty, 
having a circumference of 200 stadia. It contained four cities, 
and its name was famous, which it imparted to the surround- 
ing sea. One of the cities was called Nisyrus, after the name 
of the island Nisyrus. It lies opposite Leuce Acte in Africa, 
which is distant about 1000 stadia from Alexandria, and 
about 4000 from Carpathus. 

18. Casus is distant from Carpathus 70, and from the pro- 
montory Salmonium in Crete 250 stadia. It is 80 stadia in 
circumference. It contains a city of the same name ; and many 
islands, called the islands of the Casii, lie about it. 

19. They say that the poet calls the Sporades, Calydnse, 



214 STRABO. Casaub. 489. 

one of which is Calymna.^ But it is probable that as the 
islands, which are near and dependent, have their names from 
the Nisjrii and Casii, so those that lie around Calymna had 
their name from that island, which was then perhaps called 
Calydna. Some say that the Calydnae islands are two, Leros 
and Calymna, and that the poet means these. But the Scepsian 
says, that the name of the island was used in the plural 
number, Calymnae, like Athense, Thebae, and that the words 
of the poet must be understood according to the figure hyper- 
baton, or inversion, for he does not say, the islands Calydnae, 
but, 

" they who occupied the islands Nisyrus, Crapathus, Casus, and Cos, the 
city of Eurypylus, and Calydnae." 

All the honey of the islands is, for the most part, excellent, 
and rivals that of Attica ; but the honey of these islands sur- 
passes it, particularly that of Calymna. ^ 

^ Calimno. 

- Ffecundaque melle Calydna (v. 1. Calumne). Ovid. Met. b. viii. ver. 
222. 



BOOK XL 
ASIA. 



The Eleventh Book commences with Asia and the river Don, which, taking 
its rise in the northern regions, separates Europe from Asia. It includes 
the nations situated in Asia near its sources on the east and south, and 
the barbarous Asiatic nations who occupy the neighbourhood of Mount 
Caucasus, among whom are the Amazones, Massagetae, Scythians, Al- 
bani, Iberes, Bactriani, Caspii, Medes, Persians, and the two Armenias, 
extending to Mesopotamia. Among these nations are included the Tro- 
glodytae, Heniochi, Sceptuchi, Soanes, Assyrians, Polyphagi, Nabiani, 
JSiraci, and Tapyri. Mention is made of Jason and Medea, and of the 
cities founded by them :— of Xerxes, Mithridates, and Alexander, son of 
Philip. 

CHAPTER I. 

1. Asia is contiguous to Europe, approaching close to it 
at the Tanais or Don. 

I am to describe this country next, after dividing it, for 
the sake of perspicuity, by certain natural boundaries. What 
Eratosthenes has done with respect to the whole habitable 
earth, this I propose to do with respect to Asia. 

2. The Taurus, extending from west to east, embraces the 
middle of this continent, like a girdle, leaving one portion to 
the north, another to the south. The Greeks call the former 
Asia Within the Taurus,' the latter, Asia Without the 
Taurus. We have said this before, but it is repeated now to 
assist the memory. 

3. The Taurus has in many places a breadth of 3000 
stadia ; its length equals that of Asia, namely 45,000 stadia,^ 

' B. ii. c. V. §31. 

^ The following are the measurements of our author : 

Stadia. 

From Rhodes to Issus 5,000 

From Issus to the Caspian Gates .... 10,000 

From the Caspian Gates to the sources of the Indus 14,000 

. From the Indus to the mouth of the Ganges . . 13.500 

From thence to Thinae 2,500 



45,000 



216 STRABO. Casaub. 491. 

reckoning from the continent opposite to Rhodes to the eastern 
extremities of India and Scythia. 

4. It is divided into many parts, which are circumscribed 
by boundaries of greater or less extent, and distinguished by 
various names. 

But as such an extended range of mountains must comprise 
nations some of which are little known, and others with 
whom we are well acquainted, as Parthians,^ Medes, Arme- 
nians, some of the Cappadocians, Cilicians, and Pisidians ; 
those which approach near the northern parts must be as- 
signed to the north, (northern Asia,) those approximating 
the southern parts, to the south, (southern Asia,) and those 
situated in the middle of the mountains must be placed on 
account of the similarity of the temperature of the air, for it 
is cold to the north, while the air of the south is warm. 

The currents of almost all the rivers which flow from the 
Taurus are in a direction contrary to each other, some run- 
ning to the north, others to the south, at least at the com- 
mencement of their course, although afterwards some bend 
towards the east or west. They naturally suggest the adop- 
tion of this chain of mountains as a boundary in the division 
of Asia into two portions ; in the same manner that the sea 
within the Pillars, which for the most part runs in the same 
line with these mountains, conveniently forms two conti- 
nents, Europe and Africa, and is a remarkable boundary to 
both. 

5. In passing in our geographical description from Europe 
to Asia, the first parts of the country which present them- 
selves are those in the northern division, and we shall there- 
fore begin with these. 

Of these parts the first are those about the Tana'is, (or 
Don,) which we have assumed as the boundary of Europe 
and Asia. These have a kind of peninsular form, for they are 
surrounded on the west by the river Tana'is (or Don) and 
the Palus Maaotis ^ as far as the Cimmerian Bosporus,^ and 
that part of the coast of the Euxine which terminates at 
Colchis ; on the north by the Ocean, as far as the mouth of 
the Caspian Sea ; on the east by the same sea, as far as the 

' Strabo calls the Parthians, Parthva?! ; and Parthia, Parthysea. 
2 The Sea of AzofF. ^ The" Straits of Kertch or Zabache. 



B. XI. c. I. § 6. ASIA. 217 

confines of Albania and Armenia^ where the rivers Cyrus ^ 
and Araxes^ empty themselves; the latter flowing through 
Armenia, and the Cyrus through Iberia^ and Albania ;'* on 
the south is the tract of country extending from the mouth of 
the Cyrus as far as Colchis, and comprising about 3000 
stadia from sea to sea, across the territory of the Albani, and 
Iberes,^ so as to represent an isthmus.^ 

Those writers do not deserve attention who contract the 
isthmus as much as Cleitarchus, according to whom it is sub- 
ject to inundations of the sea from either side. According to 
Posidonius the isthmus is 1500 stadia in extent, that is, as 
large as the isthmus from Pelusium to the Red Sea. And I 
think, says he, that the isthmus between the Palus Maeotis 
and the Ocean is not very different from this in extent. 

6. I know not how any one can rely upon his authority 
respecting what is uncertain, when he has nothing probable 
to advance on the subject ; for he reasons so falsely respecting 
things which are evident, and this too when he enjoyed the 
friendship of Pompey, who had carried on war against the 
Iberes and Albani, and was acquainted with both the Cas- 
pian and Colchian "^ Seas on each side of the isthmus. It is 
related, that when Pompey ^ was at Rhodes, on his expedi- 
tion against the pirates, (he was soon afterwards to carry on 
war against Mithridates and the nations as far as the Caspian 
Sea,) he accidentally heard a philosophical lecture of Posido- 
nius ; and on his departure he asked Posidonius if he had any 
commands ; to which he replied, 

' The Kur or Kour. ^ Eraskh or Aras. ' Georgia. 

* Shirvan. ^ See b. ii. c. v. § 31. 

' To iinderstand how this part of Asia formed a peninsula, according to 
the ideas of our author, we must bear in mind, that (1) he supposed the 
source of the Don to have been situated in the neighbourhood of the 
Northern Ocean ; (2) he imagined the Caspian Sea to communicate with 
the same Ocean. Thus all the territory comprehended between the Don 
and the Caspian formed a sort of peninsula, united to the continent by an 
isthmus which separated the Euxine from the Caspian, and on which was 
situated Colchis, Iberia, and Albania. The 3000 stadia assigned to the 
breadth of this isthmus appears to be measured by stadia of 1111 1 to a de- 
gree. Goftsellin. 

' The Euxine. 

' Pompey appears to have visited this philosopher twice on this occa- 
sion, B. c. 62, and b. c. 67, on the termination of his eastern cam- 
paigns. 



218 STRABO. Casatjb. 492. 

" To stand the first in worth, as in command." • 

Add to this, that he wrote the history of Pompey. For 
these reasons he ought to have paid a greater regard to truth. 

7. The second portion is that above the Hyrcanian,^ which 
we also call the Caspian Sea, extending as far as the Scythians 
near the Indians. 

The third portion is continuous with the above-mention- 
ed isthmus, and consists of the country following next in 
order to the isthmus and the Caspian Gates,^ and approaching 
nearest the parts within the Taurus, and to Europe ; these are 
Media, Armenia, Cappadocia, and the intervening country.'* 

The fourth portion consists of the tract within the Halys,^ 
and the parts upon and without the Taurus, which coincide 
with the peninsula formed by the isthmus,^ which separates 
the Euxine- and the Cilician Seas. Among the other coun- 
tries beyond the Taurus we place Indica and Ariana,^ as far 

' II. vi. 208. Pope. 

' In many authors these names are used indifferently, the one for the 
other ; they are however distinguished by Pliny, (iv. 13,) who states that 
this sea begins to be called the Caspian after you have passed the river 
Cyrus, (Kur,) and that the Caspii live near it; and in vi. 16, that it is 
called the Hyrcanian Sea, from the Hyrcani who live along its shores. 
The western side should therefore in strictness be called the Caspian ; 
the eastern, the Hyrcanian. Smith, art. Caspium Mare. 

^ A narrow pass leading from North Western Asia into the N. E 
provinces of Persia. Their exact position was at the division of Parthia 
from Media, about a day's journey from the Median town of Rhaga?. 
(Arrian. iii. 19.) According to Isodorus Charax, they were immediately 
below Mt. Caspius. As in the case of the people called Caspii, there 
seem to have been two mountains Caspius, one near the Armenian fron- 
tier, the other near the Parthian. It was through the pass of the Caspiae 
Pylse that Alexander the Great pursued Darius. (Arrian. Anah. iii. 19 ; 
Curt. vi. 14 ; Amm. Marc, xxiii. 6.) It was one of the most important 
places in ancient geography, and from it many of the meridians were mea- 
sured. The exact place corresponding with the Caspiae Pylae is probably a 
spot between Hark-a-Koh, and Siah-Koh, about 6 parasangs from Rexj, the 
name of the entrance of which is called Dereh. Smith, art. Caspige Pylae.^ 

* Du Theil justly remarks on the obscurity of this passage. His 
translation or paraphrase is as follows : " La troisieme contiendra ce qui 
touche a V isthme dont nous avons parle ; et, par suite, ceux des pays 
qui, au sud de cet isthme et des Pyles Caspiennes, mais to uj ours en decja, 
ou, au moins, dans le sein meme du Taurus, se succedant de V est a V 
ouest, se rapprochent le plus de 1' Europe. In b. ii. c v. § 31, Strabo 
assigns Colchis to the third portion, but in this book to the first. 

5 The Kizil Ermak. « B. i. c. iii. § 2. 

^ A district of wide extent in Central Asia, comprehending nearly the 



B. XI. c. II. H- ASIA. 219 

as the nations which extend to the Persian Sea, the Arabian 
Gulf, and the Nile, and to the Egyptian and the Issic seas. 



CHAPTER 11. 



1. According to this disposition, the first portion towards 
the north and the Ocean is inhabited by certain tribes of Scy- 
thians, shepherds, (nomades,) and Hamaxoeci (or those who 
live in waggon-houses). Within these tribes live Sarmatians, 
who also are Scythians, Aorsi,^ and Siraci, extending as far as 
the Caucasian Mountains towards the south. Some of these 
are Nomades, or shepherd tribes, others Scenitae, (or dwellers 
in tents,) and Georgi, or tillers of the ground. About the 
lake Mgeotis live the Maeotae. Close to the sea is the Asiatic 
portion of the Bosporus and Sindica.^ Next follow Achaei, 
Zygi, Heniochi,^ Cercetae, and Macropogones (or the long- 
beards). Above these people are situated the passes of the 
Phtheirophagi (or Lice-eaters). After the Heniochi is Colchis, 
lying at the foot of the Caucasian and Moschic mountains. 
Having assumed the Tanai's as the boundary of Europe and 
Asia, we must begin our description in detail from this river. 

■whole of ancient Persia; and bounded on the N. by the provinces of 
Bactriana, Margiana, and Hyrcania ; on the E. by the Indus ; on the S. by 
the Indian Ocean and the eastern portion of the Persian Gulf; and on the 
W. by Media and the mountains S, of the Caspian Sea. Its exact limits 
are laid down with little accuracy in ancient authors, and it seems to have 
been often confounded (as in Pliny, b. vi. c. 23, 25) with the small pro- 
vince of Aria. It comprehended the provinces of Gedrosia, Drangiana, 
Arachosia, Paropamisus mountains, Aria, Parthia, and Carmania. Smith, 
art. Ariana. See b. xv. c. ii. § 7, 8. 

* The Aorsi and Siraci occupied the country between the Sea of Azoflf, 
the Don, the Volga, the Caspian Sea, and the Terek. May not the Aorsi, 
says Gossellin, be the same as the Thyrsageta;, Agathursi, Utidorsi, 
Adorsi, Alanorsi of other writers, but whose real name is Thyrsi ? The 
Siraci do not appear to differ from the Soraci or Seraci. of Tacitus, (Ann. 
xii. 15, &c.,) and may be the same as lyrces, 'Ivp/ctf, afterwards called 
Turcae. 

^ The country to the N. and N. E. of Anapa. By Bosporus we are to 
understand the territory on each side of the Straits of Kertch. 

3 B. ii. c. V. § 31. 



220 STRABO. Casaub. 493. 

2. The Tana'is or Don flows from the northern parts. It does 
not however flow in a direction diametrically opposite to the 
Nile, as some suppose, but its course is more to the east than 
that of the latter river ; its sources, like those of the Nile, 
are unknown. A great part of the course of the Nile is ap- 
parent, for it traverses a country the whole of which is easy 
of access, and its stream is navigable to a great distance from 
its mouth. We are acquainted with the mouths of the Don, 
(there are two in the most northerly parts of the Maeotis, dis- 
tant 60 stadia from each other,) but a small part only of the 
tract above the mouths is explored, on account of the sever- 
ity of the cold, and the destitute state of the country ; the 
natives are able to endure it, who subsist, like the wandering 
shepherd tribes, on the flesh of their animals and on milk, but 
strangers cannot bear the climate nor its privations. Besides, 
the nomades dislike intercourse with other people, and being 
a strong and numerous tribe have excluded travellers from 
every part of the country which is accessible, and from all 
such rivers as are navigable. For this reason some have sup- 
posed that the sources of the river are among the Caucasian 
mountains, that, after flowing in a full stream towards the 
north, it then makes a bend, and discharges itself into the 
Maeotis. Theophanes ' of Mitylene is of the same opinion with 
these writers. Others suppose that it comes from the higher 
parts of the Danube, but they do not produce any proof of so 
remote a source, and in other climates, though they seem to 
think it impossible for it to rise at no great distance and in 
the north. 

3. Upon the river, and on the lake, stands a city Tana'is, 
founded by the Greeks, who possess the Bosporus ; but 
lately the King Polemon '^ laid it waste on account of the re- 
fractory disposition of the inhabitants. It was the common 
mart both of the Asiatic and of the European nomades, and 
of those who navigate the lake from the Bosporus, some of 
whom bring slaves and hides, or any other nomadic commo- 
dity ; others exchange wine for clothes, and other articles 
peculiar to a civilized mode of life. 

* Cn. Pompeius Theophanes was one of the more intimate friends of 
Pompey, by whom he was presented with the Roman franchise in the 
presence of his army. This occurred in all probabiUty about b. c. 62. 
Smith, art. Theophanes. * About b. c. 16. Smith, art. Polemon I, 



B. XI. c. II. § 4, 5. SEA OF AZOFF. 221 

In front of the mart at the distance of 100 stadia is an is- 
land Alopecia, a settlement of a mixed people. There are 
other small islands not far off in the lake. 

The city Tanais,^ to those who sail in a direct line to- 
wards the north, is distant from the mouth of the Mseotis 
2200 stadia, nor is the distance much greater in sailing along 
the coast (on the east). 

4. In the voyage along the coast, the first object which 
presents itself to those who have proceeded to the distance of 
800 stadia from the Tanais, is the Great Rhombites, as it is 
called, where large quantities of fish are captured for the pur- 
pose of being salted. Then at the distance of 800 stadia 
more is the Lesser Rhombites,^ and a promontory, which has 
smaller fisheries. The [nomades] at the former have small 
islands as stations for their vessels, those at the Lesser Rhom- 
bites are the Mseotie who cultivate the ground. For along 
the whole of this coasting voyage live Mseotae, who are hus- 
bandmen, but not less addicted to war than the nomades. 
They are divided into several tribes ; those near the Tana'is 
are more savage, those contiguous to the Bosporus are more 
gentle in their manners. 

From the Lesser Rhombites to Tyrambe, and the river An- 
ticeites, are 600 stadia; then 120 to the Cimmerian village, 
whence vessels set out on their voyage along the lake. In 
this coasting voyage we meet with some look-out places, (for 
observing the fish,) said to belong to the Clazomenians. 

5. Cimmericum was formerly a city built upon a peninsula, 
the isthmus of which it enclosed with a ditch and mound. 
The Cimmerii once possessed great power in the Bosporus, 
whence it was called the Cimmerian Bosporus. These are 
the people who overran the territory of the inhabitants of 
the inland parts, on the right of the Euxine, as far as Ionia. 
They were dislodged from these places by Scythians, and the 
Scythians by Greeks, who founded Panticapaeum,^ and the 
other cities on the Bosporus. 

* If there ever did exist such a city as Tanais I should expect to 
find it at the extremity of that northern embouchure of the Don, which 
I have before mentioned as bearing the very name the Greeks gave to 
the city, with the slightest variation of orthojrraphy, in the appellation 
Tdanaets or Danaetz, Clarke's Travels in Russia, chap. 14. 

^ Strabo makes the distance too great between the two rivers Rhom- 
bites. 3 Kertch. 



222 STRABO. Casaub. 494. 

6. Next to the village Achilleium/ where is the temple of 
Achilles, are 20 stadia. Here is the narrowest passage, 20 
stadia or more, across the mouth of the Maeotis ; on the op- 
posite continent is Myrmecium, a village. Near are Hera- 
cleium and Parthenium. 

7. Thence to the monument of Satyrus are 90 stadia ; this 
is a mound raised on a promontory,^ in memory of one of the 
illustrious princes of the Bosporus. 

8. Near it is Patraeus,^ a village, from which to Corocon- 
dame,^ a village, are 130 stadia. This is the termination of 
the Cimmerian Bosporus, as it is called. The narrow pass- 
age at the mouth of the Maeotis derives its name from the 
straits opposite the Achilleium, and the Myrmecium ; it ex- 
tends as far as Corocondame and a small village opposite to 
it in the territory of the Panticapeeans, called Acra,^ and 
separated by a channel of 70 stadia in width. The ice 
reaches even to this place, for the Masotis is frozen during 
severe frost so as to become passable on foot. The whole of 
this narrow passage has good harbours. 

9. Beyond Corocondame is a large lake^ which is called 
from the place Corocondametis. It discharges itself into the 
sea at the distance of 10 stadia from the village. A branch^ 
of the river Anticeites empties itself into the lake, and forms 
an island, which is surrounded by the waters of the lake, of 
the Maeotis, and of the river. Some persons give this river 
the name of Hypanis,^ as well as to that^ near the Borys- 
thenes.^^ 

10. Upon sailing ^^ into the Corocondametis, we meet with 

* According to La Motraye, Achilleum corresponds to Adasbournout, 
but Du Theil quotes also the following passage from Peyssonel. Ac- 
cording to Strabo, Achilleum must have been situated opposite Casau-dip, 
the ancient Parthenium on the point Tchochekha-Bournou (the pig's 
head). But perhaps the ancients placed Achilleum near the entrance of 
the Euxine into the Palus Maeotis. Is not the fort of Achou, which is 8 
leagues more to the east on the Palus Maeotis, the true Achilleum, tlie 
name being corrupted and abridged by the Tartars ? 

^ The point Rubanova. ^ Ada. * Taman. * C. Takli. 

^ Ak Tengis. ' Another branch of the Kuban. 

* The Kuban, anciently also the Vardanus. 

« The Bog. 10 The Dnieper. 

" It is probable that the Kuban Lake is here confounded with, or con- 
sidered a portion of, the Lake Ak Tengis. Considering the intricacy of 
all this coast, the changes that have taken place, and the absence of ac- 



B. XI. c. II. ^ 11. SEA OF AZOFF. 223 

Phanagoria, a considerable city, Cepi, Hermonas§a, and Apa- 
turum, the temple of Venus (Apatura). Of these cities Phana- 
goria and Cepi are situated in the above-mentioned island on 
the left hand at the entrance of the lake ; the others are on. 
the right hand in Sindica beyond the Hypanis. There is 
Gorgipia,^ but the royal seat of the Sindi is in Sindica near 
the sea, and Aborace. 

All those who are subject to the princes of the Bosporus 
are called Bosporani. The capital of the European Bospo- 
rani is Panticapaeum, and of the Asian Bosporani, the city of 
Phanagorium,^ for this is the name given to it. Phanagoria 
seems to be the mart for those commodities which are 
brought down from the Maeotis, and from the barbarous coun- 
try lying above it ; and Panticapaeum, the mart for the com- 
modities which are transported thither from the sea. There 
is also in Phanagoria a magnificent temple of Venus Apa- 
tura, the Deceitful. This epithet of the goddess is derived 
from a fable, according to which the giants assaulted her in 
this place. Having obtained the assistance of Hercules she hid 
him in a cave, and then admitted the giants one by one into 
her presence, and delivered them over to Hercules, thus 
craftily^ to be put to death. 

11. The Sindi, Dandarii, Toreatae, Agri, Arrhechi, and 
besides these, the Tarpetes, Obidiaceni, Sittaceni, Dosci, and 
many others, belong to the Maeotae ; to this people belong the 
Aspurgiani also, who live between Phanagoria and Gorgi- 
pia, at the distance of 500 stadia [from the Maeotis ?]. Pole- 
mon, the king, entered the country of these people under a 

curate knowledge, both in ancient and modern times, of these unfre- 
quented parts, much must be left to conjecture. The positions therefore 
assigned to ancient cities are doubtful. The names indeed are inserted 
in Kiepert's maps, but without the assistance of recent travellers it would 
be hazardous to pretend to fix upon their exact sites. 

' icTi St Kal Fopynria. Some word or words appear to be wanting 
here. Kiepert assigns a place to this name, but it seems doubtful whe- 
ther a place or a district is to be understood. Below, § 14, the Sindic 
harbour and city are mentioned, which may have been situated at 
Sound-jouk-kale. D' Anville places them here or at Anapa, but the 
contour of the coast in his map does not resemble that of any modern 
maps. 

- The modern town Phanagoria does not seem to occupy the site of 
the ancient city. 

^ ai dTTurriQ. 



224 STRABO. 



Casaub. 495. 



show of friendship, but his design was discovered, and they 
on their part attacked him unawares. He was taken prisoner, 
and put to death. 

With respect to the Asian MaBotae in general, some of 
them were the subjects of those who possessed the mart on 
the Tanai's ; others, of the Bosporani ; and different bodies 
have revolted at different times. The princes of the Bospo- 
rani were frequently masters of the country as far as the 
Tanais, and particularly the last princes, Pharnaces, Asander, 
and Polemon. 

Pharnaces is said to have once brought even the river 
Hypanis over the territory of the Dandarii through some 
ancient canal, which he had caused to be cleared, and inun- 
dated the country. 

12. Next to Sindica, and Gorgipia upon the sea, is the 
sea-coast inhabited by the Achsei, Zygi, and Heniochi. It 
is for the most part without harbours and mountainous, being 
a portion of the Caucasus. 

These people subsist by piracy. 

Their boats are slender, narrow, light, and capable of hold- 
ing about five and twenty men, and rarely thirty. The 
Greeks call them camarae. They say, that at the time of 
the expedition of Jason the Achsei Phthiotae founded the 
Achaia there, and the Lacedaemonians, Heniochia. Their 
leaders were Rhecas, and Amphistratus, the charioteers ^ of 
the Dioscuri; it is probable that the Heniochi had their 
name from these persons. They equip fleets consisting of 
these camarae, and being masters of the sea sometimes at- 
tack vessels of burden, or invade a territory, or even a city. 
Sometimes even those who occupy the Bosporus assist them, 
by furnishing places of shelter for their vessels, and supply 
them with provision and means for the disposal of their 
booty. When they return to their own country, not having 
places suitable for mooring their vessels, they put their camarae 
on their shoulders, and carry them up into the forests, among 
which they live, and where they cultivate a poor soil. When 
the season arrives for navigation, they bring them down again 
to the coast. Their habits are the same even in a foreign 
country, for they are acquainted with wooded tracts, in which, 
after concealing their camarse, they wander about on foot day 
1 t'jvioxoi. 



B. XI. c. II. ^ 13, 14. COAST OF CIRCASSIA. 225 

and night, for the purpose of capturing the inhabitants and 
reducing them to slavery. But they readily allow whatever 
is taken to be ransomed, and signify this after their departure 
to those who have lost their property. In places where there 
is a regular government, the injured find means of repelling 
them. For, frequently, the pirates are attacked in return, and 
are carried off together with their camarae. But the country 
subject to the Romans is not so well protected, in conse- 
quence of the neglect of those who are sent there. 

13. Such then is their mode of life. But even these peo- 
ple are governed by persons called Sceptuchi, and these again 
are subject to the authority of tyrants,- or of kings. The 
Heniochi had four kings at the time that Mithridates Eupator 
fled from the country of his ancestors to the Bosporus, and 
passed through their country, which was open to him, but he 
avoided that of the Zygi on account of its ruggedness, and 
the savage character of the people. He proceeded with dif- 
ficulty along the sea-coast, frequently embarking in vessels, 
till he came to the country of the Achaei, by whom he was 
hospitably received. He had then completed a journey from 
the Phasis of not much less than 4000 stadia. 

14. From Corocondame, the course of the voyage is direct- 
ly towards the east. At the distance of 180 stadia is the 
Sindic harbour, and a city. Then at the distance of 400 
stadia is Bata,^ as it is called, a village with a harbour. It is 
at this place that Sinope on the south seems to be directly 
opposite to this coast, as Carambis^ has been said to be oppo- 
site to Criu-Metopon.-^ 

Next to Bata Artemidorus places the coast of the Cercetae, 
which .has places of shelter for vessels, and villages along an 
extent of about 850 stadia; then at 500 stadia more the 
coast of the Achaei, then that of the Heniochi, at 1000 stadia, 
then the Great Pityus, from which to Dioscurias are 360 
stadia. 

The authors most worthy of credit who have written the 
history of the Mithridatic wars, enumerate the Achaei first, 
then Zygi, then Heniochi, then Cercetae, Moschi, Colchi, and 
above these the Phtheirophagi, Soanes, and other smaller 
nations about the Caucasus. 

^ Pschate. ' Keremp. ^ C. Aia. 

VOL. II. Q 



226 STRABO. Casaub. 497. 

The direction of the sea-coast is at first, as I have said, 
towards the east, with a southern aspect ; but from Bata 
it makes a bend for a small distance, then fronts the west, 
and terminates towards Pityus, and Dioscurias, for these 
places are contiguous to the coast of Colchis, which I have 
already mentioned. Next to Dioscurias is the remainder of 
the coast of Colchis, and Trapezus contiguous to it ; where 
the coast, having made a considerable turn, then extends 
nearly in a straight line, and forms the side on the right hand 
of the Euxine, looking to the north. 

The whole of the coast of the Achaei, and of the other 
nations, as far as Dioscurias, and the inland places lying in a 
straight line towards the south, are at the foot of the Caucasus. 

15. This mountain overhangs both the Euxine and the Cas- 
pian seas,, forming a kind of rampart to the isthmus which 
separates one sea from the other. To the south it is the 
boundary of Albania and Iberia, to the north, of the plains 
of the Sarmatians. It is well wooded, and contains vari- 
ous kinds of timber, and especially trees adapted to ship- 
building. Eratosthenes says that the Caucasus is called 
Mount Caspius by the natives, a name borrowed perhaps 
from the Caspii. It throws out forks towards the south, which 
embrace the middle of Iberia, and touch the Armenian and 
those called the Moschic mountains,' and besides these the 
mountains of Scydises, and the Paryadres. All these are 
portions of the Taurus, which forms the southern side of 
Armenia, and are broken off in a manner from it towards the 
north, and extend as far as Caucasus, and the coast of the 
Euxine which lies between Colchis and Themiscyra.^ 

16. Situated on a bay of this kind, and occupying the most 
easterly point of the whole sea, is Dioscurias,^ called the recess 

^ The Tschilder mountains, of which Scydeces and Paryandres are a 
continuation. 2 Thermeh. 

' On the mouth of the river Anthemus to the N. of Colchis. It was 
situated 100 M. P., or 790 stadia to the N. P. of the Phasis, and 2260 
stadia from Trapezus (Trebizond). (PHny, vi. 5; Arrian, Perip. pp. 10, 
18.) Upon or near the spot to which the twin sons of Leda gave their 
name, (Mela, i. 19, § 5; comp. Am. Marc. xxii. 8, § 24,) the Romans 
built Sebastopolis, (Steph. B. ; Procop. B. G. iv. 4,) which was deserted 
in the time of Pliny, but was afterwards garrisoned by Justinian. The 
SoTERiopoLis of later times has been identified with it. The position of 
this place must be looked for near the roadstead of Iskuria. Smith, art. 
Dioscurias. 



B. XI. c. IT. § 17. GEORGIA. 227 

of the Euxine Sea, and the extreme boundary of naviga- 
tion, for in this sense we are to understand the proverbial 
saying, 

" To Phasis where ships end their course." 

Not as if the author of the iambic intended to speak of the 
river, nor of the city of the same name upon the river, but 
Colchis designated by a part, because from the city and the 
river there remains a voyage of not less than 600 stadia in a 
straight line to the recess of the bay. This same Dioscurias 
is the commencement of the isthmus lying between the Cas- 
pian Sea and the Euxine. It is a common mart of the nations 
situated above it, and in its neighbourhood. There assemble 
at Dioscurias 70 or, according to some writers who are care- 
less in their statements,^ 300 nations. All speak different 
languages, from living dispersed in various places and with- 
out intercourse, in consequence of their fierce and savage 
manners. They are chiefly Sarmatians, but all of them Cau- 
casian tribes. So much then respecting Dioscurias. 

17. The greater part of the rest of Colchis lies upon the sea. 
The Phasis,^ a large river, flows through it. It has its source 
in Armenia, and receives the Glaucus,^ and the Hippus,"* which 
issue from the neighbouring mountains. Vessels ascend it as 
far as the fortress of Sarapana,^ which is capable of contain- 
ing the population even of a city. Persons proceed thence by 
land to the Cyrus in four days along a carriage road.^ Upon 
the Phasis is a city of the same name, a mart of the Colchians, 
bounded on one side by the river, on another by a lake, on 
the third by the sea. Thence it is a voyage of three or two"^ 
days to Amisus and Sinope, on account of the softness of the 
shores caused by the discharge of rivers.® 

The country is fertile and its produce is good, except the 

' olg ovStv Toiv ovTix)v fisXd, or careless of the truth. Kramer observes 
that these words are inconveniently placed in the Greek text. 
2 The Rion. » The Tschorocsu. * The Ilori. 

^ Choropani. 

* The point of embarkation on the Cyrus (the Kur) Is supposed to 
have been Surham, the ancient Sura. 

^ Gossellin, Groskurd, and Kramer, all agree that there is here an error. 
Kramer is of opinion that the conjecture of Gossellin may be adopted, viz. 
" eight or nine," instead of " three or two," the letters T and B being a 
corruption of H and 9. 

* Coray's proposed reading is adopted, Kara for kuL 

Q 2 



228 STRABO. Casaub. 498. 

honey, which has generally a bitter taste. It furnishes all 
materials for ship-building. It produces them in great plenty, 
and they are conveyed down by its rivers. It supplies flax, 
hemp, wax, and pitch, in great abundance. Its linen manu- 
facture is celebrated, for it was exported to foreign parts ; 
and those who wish to establish an affinity of race between 
the Colchians and the Egyptians, advance this as a proof of it. 
Above the rivers which I have mentioned in the Moschic 
territory is the temple of Leucothea,^ founded by Phrixus^ 
and his oracle, where a ram is not sacrificed. It was once 
rich, but was plundered in our time by Pharnaces, and a little 
afterwards by Mithridates of Pergamus.^ For when a coun- 
try is devastated, in the words of Euripides, 

" respect to the gods languishes, and they are not honoured."* 

18. How great anciently was the celebrity of this country, 
appears from the fables which refer obscurely to the expedition 
of Jason, who advanced as far even as Media ; and still earlier 
intimations of it are found in the fables relative to the expe- 
dition of Phrixus. The kings that preceded, and who pos- 
sessed the country when it was divided into Sceptuchies,^ 
were not very powerful, but when Mithridates Eupator had 
enlarged his territory, this country fell under his dominion. 
One of his courtiers was always sent as sub-governor and 
administrator of its public affairs. Of this number was Moa- 
phernes, my mother's paternal uncle. It was from this country 
that the king derived the greatest part of his supplies for the 
equipment of his naval armament. But upon the overthrow 
of Mithridates, all the country subject to his power was dis- 
united, and divided among several persons. At last Polemon 

^ According'to Heyne, this was an Assyrian goddess worshipped under 
various titles. 

'^ In consequence of the intrigues of his stepmother Ino he was to he 
sacrificed to Zeus, but his mother Nephele removed him and his sister 
Helle, and the two then rode away on the ram with the golden fleece, the 
gift of Hermes, through the air. Helle fell into the sea, which was after- 
wards called, after her, the Hellespont. Smith, art. Phrixus. 

^ The son of Menodotus by a daughter o Adobogion, a descendant of 
the tetrarchs of Galatia. He was the personal friend of Csesar, who at 
the commencement of the Alexandrian war (b. c. 48) sent him into 
Syria and Cilicia to raise auxiliary forces. Smith, art. Mithridates, and 
see B. xiii. c. iv. § 3. 

* Eurip. Troad. 26. 



B. XI. c. n. § 19. CAUCASUS. 229 

obtained possession of Colchis, and after his death his wife 
Pythodoris reigned over the Colchians, Trapezus, Pharnacia, 
and the Barbarians situated above them, of whom I shall 
speak in another place. 

The territory of the Moschi, in which is situated the tem- 
ple, is divided into three portions, one of which is occupied 
by Colchians, another by Iberians, and the third by Arme- 
nians. There is in Iberia on the confines of Colchis, a small 
city, the city of Phrixus, the present Idessa, a place of 
strength. The river Charis ^ flows near Dioscurias. 

19. Among the nations that assemble at Dioscurias are 
the Phtheiropagi, who have their appellation from their dirt 
and filth. 

Near them live the Soanes, not less dirty in their habits, 
but superior perhaps to all the tribes in strength and courage. 
They are masters of the country around them, and occupy 
the heights of Caucasus above Dioscurias. They have a king, 
and a council of three hundred persons. They can assemble, 
it is said, an army of two hundred thousand men, for all their 
people are fighting men, but not distributed into certain orders. 
In their country the winter torrents are said to bring down 
even gold, which the Barbarians collect in troughs pierced 
with holes, and lined with fleeces; and hence the fable of 
the golden fleece. Some^ say that they are called Iberians 
(the same name as the western Iberians) from the gold mines 
found in both countries. The Soanes use poison of an extra- 
ordinary kind for the points of their weapons ; even the odour 
of this poison is a cause of suffering to those who are wounded 
by arrows thus prepared. 

The other neighbouring nations about the Caucasus occupy 
barren and narrow tracts of land. But the tribes of the Al- 
banians and Iberians, who possess nearly the whole of the 
above-mentioned isthmus, may also be denominated Cauca- 
sian, and yet they live in a fertile country and capable of 
being well peopled. 

* Casaubon would read Corax. — ^The Sukum. 

- Adopting Kramer's proposed reading, svioi in place of el firj. 



230 STRABO. Casaub. 499. 



CHAPTER III. 

1. The greater part of Iberia is well inhabited, and con- 
tains cities and villages where the houses have roofs covered 
with tiles, and display skill in building ; there are market- 
places in them, and various kinds of public edifices. 

2. Some part of the country is encompassed by the Cauca- 
sian mountains ; for branches of this range advance, as I have 
said, towards the south. These districts are fruitful, com- 
prise the whole of Iberia, and extend to Armenia and Colchis. 
In the middle is a plain watered by rivers, the largest of 
which is the Cyrus, which, rising in Armenia, immediately 
enters the above-mentioned plain, having received the Ara- 
gus,^ which flows at the foot of the Caucasus, and other 
streams, passes through a narrow channel into Albania. It 
flows however between this country and Armenia in a large 
body through plains, which afford excellent pasture. After 
having received several rivers, and among these the Alazo- 
nius,^ Sandobanes, the Rhoetaces, and Chanes, all of which 
are navigable, it discharges itself into the Caspian Sea. Its 
former name was Corns. 

3. The plai]:\ is occupied by those Iberians who are more 
disposed to agriculture, and are inclined to peace. Their 
dress is after the Armenian and Median fashion. Those 
who inhabit the mountainous country, and they are the most 
numerous, are addicted to war, live like the Sarmatians and 
Scythians, on whose country they border, and with whom 
they are connected by affinity of race. These people how- 
ever engage in agriculture also, and can assemble many 
myriads of persons from among themselves, and from the 
Scythians and Sarmatians, whenever any disturbance occurs. 

4. There are four passes into the country; one through 
Sarapana, a Colchian fortress, and through the defiles near it, 
along which the Phasis, rendered passable from one side 
to the other by a hundred and twenty bridges, in conse- 

1 The Arak. 

^ In the English map, reduced from the Russian military map, there 
are two rivers Alasan, flowing in contrary directions from M. Bebala. 
The modern names of the other rivers here mentioned are not well as- 
certained. 



B. XI. c. III. § 5, 6. CAUCASUS. IBERIA. 231 

quence of the winding of its stream, descends abruptly and 
violently into Colchis. The places in its course are hollowed 
by numerous torrents, during the rainy season. It rises in 
the mountains which lie above, and many springs contribute 
to swell its stream. In the plains it receives other rivers 
also, among which are the Glaucus ^ and the Hippus.^ The 
stream thus filled and navigable discharges itself into the 
Pontus. It has on its banks a city of the same name, and 
near it a lake. Such is the nature of the entrance into 
Iberia from Colchis, shut in by rocks and strongholds, and 
by rivers running through ravines. 

5. From the Nomades on the north there is a difficult 
ascent for three days, and then a narrow road by the side of 
the river Aragus, a journey of four days, which road admits 
only one person to pass at a time. The termination of the 
road is guarded by an impregnable wall. 

From Albania the entrance is at first cut through rocks, 
then passes over a marsh formed by the river (Alazonius),^ 
in its descent from the Caucasus. On the side of Armenia are 
the narrow passes on the Cyrus, and those on the Aragus, for 
before the junction of these rivers they have on their banks 
strong cities set upon rocks, at the distance from each other 
of about 18 stadia, as Harmozica* on the Cyrus, and on the 
other (Aragus) Seusamora. Pompey formerly in his way 
from Armenia, and afterwards Canidius, marched through 
these passes into Iberia. 

6. The inhabitants of this country are also divided into 
four classes ; the first and chief is that from which the kings 
are appointed. The king is the oldest and the nearest of his 
predecessor's relations. The second administers justice, and 
is commander of the army. 

The second class consists of priests, whose business it is to 
settle the respective rights of their own and the bordering 
people. 

The third is composed of soldiers and husbandmen. The 
fourth comprehends the common people, who are royal slaves, 
and perform all the duties of ordinary life^ 

' Tchorocsu. 2 Uori. 

^ Probably the Alasan flowing from M. Bebala. 

* Akalziche. 



232 STRABO. Casaub. 501. 

Possessions are common property in families, but the eldest 
governs, and is the steward of each. 

Such is the character of the Iberians, and the nature of 
their country. 



CHAPTER IV. 

1. The Albanians pursue rather a shepherd life, and resem- 
ble more the nomadic tribes, except that they are not savages, 
and hence they are little disposed to war. They inhabit the 
country between the Iberians and the Caspian Sea, approach- 
ing close to the sea on the east, and on the west border upon 
the Iberians. 

Of the remaining sides the northern is protected by the 
Caucasian mountains, for these overhang the plains, and are 
called, particularly those near the sea, Ceraunian mountains. 
The southern side is formed by Armenia, which extends 
along it. A large portion of it consists of plains, and a 
large portion also of mountains, as Cambysene, where the 
Armenians approach close both to the Iberians and the Al- 
banians. 

2. The Cyrus, which flows through Albania, and the other 
rivers which swell the stream of the Cyrus, improve the 
qualities of the land, but remove the sea to a distance. For 
the mud, accumulating in great quantity, fills- up the channel 
in such a manner, that the small adjacent islands are an- 
nexed to the continent, irregular marshes are formed, and 
difficult to be avoided ; the reverberation also of the tide in- 
creases the irregular formation of the marshes. The mouth 
of the river is said to be divided into twelve branches, some 
of which afford no passage through them, others are so shallow 
as to leave no shelter for vessels. The shore for an extent 
of more than 60 stadia is inundated by the sea, and by the 
rivers ; all that part of it is inaccessible ; the mud reaches 
even as far as 50Q stadia, and forms a bank along the coast. 
The Araxes^ discharges its waters not far off, coming with 
an impetuous stream from Armenia, but the mud which this 

1 The Aras. 



B. XI. c. IV. § 3—5. CAUCASUS. ALBANIA. 233 

river impels fonvard, making the channel pervious, is replaced 
by the Cyrus. 

3. Perhaps such a race of people have no need of the sea, 
for they do not make a proper use even of the land, which 
produces every kind of fruit, even the most delicate, and 
every kind of plant and evergreen. It is not cultivated with 
the least care ; but all that is excellent grows without sowing, 
and without ploughing, according to the accounts of persons 
who have accompanied armies there, and describe the inhabit- 
ants as leading a Cyclopean mode of life. In many places the 
ground, which has been sowed once, produces two or three 
crops, the first of which is even fifty-fold, and that without 
a fallow, nor is the ground turned with an iron instrument, 
but with a plough made entirely of wood. The whole plain 
is better watered than Babylon or JEgypt, by rivers and 
streams, so that it always presents the appearance of herbage, 
and it affords excellent pasture. The air here is better than 
in those countries. The vines remain always without digging 
round them, and are pruned every five years. The young 
trees bear fruit even the second year, but the full grown 
yield so much that a large quantity of it is left on the 
branches. The cattle, both tame and wild, thrive well in this 
country. 

4. The men are distinguished for beauty of person and for 
size. They are simple in their dealings and not fraudulent, 
for they do not in general use coined money ; nor are they 
acquainted with any number above a hundred, and transact 
their exchanges by loads. They are careless with regard to 
the other circumstances of life. They are ignorant of weights 
and measures as far as exactness is concerned ; they are im- 
provident with respect to war, government, and agriculture. 
They fight however on foot and on horseback, both in light 
and in heavy armour, like the Armenians. 

5. Thej can send into the field a larger army than the 
Iberians, for they can equip 60,000 infantry and 22,000 
horsemen ; with such a force they offered resistance to Pom- 
pey. The Nomades also co-operate with them against foreign- 
ers, as they do with the Iberians on similar occasions. When 
there is no war they frequently attack these people and pre- 
vent them from cultivating the ground. They use javelins 
and bows, and wear breastplates, shields, and coverings for 



234 STRABO. Casaub. 502. 

the head, made of the hides of wild animals, like the Ibe- 
rians. 

To the country of the Albanians belongs Caspiana, and has 
its name from the Caspian tribe, from whom the sea also has 
its appellation ; the Caspian tribe is now extinct. 

The entrance from Iberia into Albania is through the Cam- 
bysene, a country without water, and rocky, to the river Ala- 
zonius. The people themselves and their dogs are exces- 
sively fond of the chase, pursuing it with equal eagerness 
and skill. 

6. Their kings differ from one another ; at present one king 
governs all the tribes. Formerly each tribe was governed by 
a king, who spoke the peculiar language of each. They 
speak six and twenty languages from the want of mutual 
intercourse and communication with one another. 

The country produces some venomous reptiles, as scorpions 
and tarantulas. These tarantulas cause death in some instances 
by laughter, in others by grief and a longing to return home. 

7. The gods they worship are the Sun, Jupiter, and the 
Moon, but the Moon above the rest. She has a temple near 
Iberia. The priest is a person who, next to the king, re- 
ceives the highest honours. He has the government of the 
sacred land, which is extensive and populous, and authority 
over the sacred attendants, many of whom are divinely in- 
spired, and prophesy. Whoever of these persons, being vio- 
lently possessed, wanders alone in the woods, is seized by the 
priest, who, having bound him with sacred fetters, maintains 
him sumptuously during that year. Afterwards he is brought 
forth at the sacrifice performed in honour of the goddess, and 
is anointed with fragrant ointment and sacrificed together with 
other victims. The sacrifice is performed in the following 
manner. A person, having in his hand a sacred lance, with 
which it is the custom to sacrifice human victims, advances out 
of the crowd and pierces the heart through the side, which he 
does from experience in this office. When the man has fallen, 
certain prognostications are indicated by the manner of the 
fall, and these are publicly declared. The body is carried away 
to a certain spot, and then they all trample upon it, perform- 
ing this action as a mode of purification of themselves. 

8. The Albanians pay the greatest respect to old age, which 
is not confined to their parents, but is extended to old persons 



B. XI. c. V. § 1. AMAZONS. 235 

in general. It is regarded as impious to show any concern 
for the dead, or to mention their names. Their money is buried 
with them, hence they live in poverty, having no patrimony. 
So much concerning the Albanians. It is said that when 
Jason, accompanied by Armenus the Thessalian, undertook 
the voyage to the Colchi, they advanced as far as the Caspian 
Sea, and traversed Iberia, Albania, a great part of Armenia, 
and Media, as the Jasoneia and many other monuments tes- 
tify. Armenus, they say, was a native of Armenium, one of 
the cities on the lake Boebeis, between Pherae and Parisa, and 
that his companions settled in Acihsene, and the Suspiritis, 
and occupied the country as far as Calachene and Adiabene, 
and that he gave his own name to Armenia. 



CHAPTER V. 



1. The Amazons are said to live among the mountains 
above Albania. Theophanes, who accompanied Pompey in 
his wars, and was in the country of the Albanians, says that 
Gelae and Legae,^ Scythian tribes, live between the Amazons 
and the Albanians, and that the river Mermadalis^ takes its 
course in the country lying in the middle between these 
people and the Amazons. But other writers, and among 
these Metrodorus of Scepsis, and Hypsicrates, who were 
themselves acquainted with these places, say that the Ama- 
zons bordered upon the Gargarenses^ on the north, at the 
foot of the Caucasian mountains, which are called Ceraunia. 

* Strabo mentions the Gelae again, c. vii. § 1, but in a manner which 
does not agree with what he here says of their position. We must per- 
haps suppose that this people, in part at least, have changed their place 
of residence, and that now the greater part of their descendants are to be 
found in Ghilan, under the name of Gele, or Gelaki. The name of 
Leges, or Legse, who have continued to occupy these regions, is recog- 
nised in that of Legi, Leski. Gossellin. 

2 The Mermadalis seems to be the same river called below by Strabo 
Mermodas. Critics and modern travellers differ respecting its present 
name. One asserts that it is the Marubias, or Marabias, of Ptolemy, 
another takes it to be the Manitsch, called in Austrian maps Calaus. 
Others believe it to be the small stream Mermedik, which flows into the 
Terek. Others again recognise the Mermadalis in the Egorlik. Gossellin. 

' Unknown. Pallas thought that he had discovered their name in 



236 STRABO. Casaub. 504. 

When at home they are occupied in performing with their 
own hands the work of ploiaghing, planting, pasturing cattle, 
and particularly in training horses. The strongest among 
them spend much of their time in hunting on horseback, and 
practise warlike exercises. All of them from infancy have 
the right breast seared, in order that they may use the arm with 
ease for all manner of purposes, and particularly for throw- 
ing the javelin. They employ the bow also, and sagaris, 
(a kind of sword,) and wear a buckler. They make helmets, 
and coverings for the body, and girdles, of the skins of wild 
animals. They pass two months of the spring on a neigh- 
bouring mountain, which is the boundary between them and 
the Gargarenses. The latter also ascend the mountain ac- 
cording to some ancient custom for the purpose of perform- 
ing common sacrifices, and of having intercourse with the 
women with a view to offspring, in secret and in darkness, 
the man with the first woman he meets. When the women 
are pregnant they are sent away. The female children that 
may be born are retained by the Amazons themselves, but 
the males are taken to the Gargarenses to be brought up, 
The children are distributed among families, in which the 
master treats them as his own, it being impossible to ascertain 
the contrary. 

2. The Mermodas,^ descending like a torrent from the 
mountains through the country of the Amazons, the Siracene, 
and the intervening desert, discharges itself into the Masotis.^ 

It is said that the Gargarenses ascended together with the 
Amazons from Themiscyra to these places, that they then 
separated, and with the assistance of some Thracians and 
Euboeans, who had wandered as far as this country, made war 
against the Amazons, and at length, upon its termination, enter- 
ed into a compact on the conditions above mentioned, namely, 
that there should be a companionship only with respect to 

that of the Tscherkess, who occupied the country where Strabo places 
the Gargarenses, and might be their descendants. 

^ The same river probably before called the Mermadalis. 

"^ This sentence has been supposed by some critics to be an interpola- 
tion. Strabo above, c. ii. § 1, has already spoken of the Siraci, who 
would seem to have been the inhabitants of Siracena, and may sometimes 
have been called Siraceni. In c. ii. § 11, he speaks of the Sittaceni, and 
assigns them a position which would indicate them as a different people 
from the Seraci, or Siraceni. Gossellin. 



B. XI. c. V. ^ 3-5. AMAZONS. 237 

offspring, and that they should live each independent of the 
other. 

3. There is a peculiarity in the history of the Amazons. 
In other histories the fabulous and the historical parts are 
kept distinct. For what is ancient, false, and marvellous is 
called fable. But history has truth for its object, whether 
it be old or new, and it either rejects or rarely admits the 
marvellous. But, with regard to the Amazons, the same facts 
are related both by modern and by ancient writers ; they are 
marvellous and exceed belief. For who can believe that an 
army of women, or a city, or a nation, could ever subsist 
without men ? and not only subsist, but make inroads upon 
the territory of other people, and obtain possession not only 
of the places near them, and advance even as far as the pre- 
sent Ionia, but even despatch an expedition across the sea to 
Attica? This is as much as to say that the men of those 
days were women, and the women men. But even now the 
same things are told of the Amazons, and the peculiarity of 
their history is increased by the credit which is given to 
ancient, in preference to modern, accounts. 

4. They are said to have founded cities, and to have given 
their names to them, as Ephesus, Smyrna, Cyme, Myrina, 
besides leaving sepulchres and other memorials. Themiscyra, 
the plains about the Thermodon, and the mountains lying 
above, are mentioned by all writers as once belonging to the 
Amazons, from whence, they say, they were driven out. Where 
they are at present few writers undertake to point out, nor do 
they advance proofs or probability for what they state; as in 
the case of Thalestria, queen of the Amazons, with whom 
Alexander is said to have had intercourse in Hyrcania with 
the hope of having offspring. Writers are not agreed on this 
point, and among many who have paid the greatest regard to 
truth none mention the circumstance, nor do writers of the 
highest credit mention anything of the kind, nor do those who 
record it relate the same facts. Cleitarchus says that Tha- 
lestria set out from the Caspian Gates and Thermodon to 
meet Alexander. Now from the Caspian Gates to Thermodon 
are more, than 6000 stadia. 

5. Stories circulated for the purpose of exalting the fame 
[of eminent persons] are not received with equal favour by 
all ; the object of the inventors was flattery rather than truth ; 



238 STRABO. Casaue. 505. 

they transferred, for example, the Caucasus to the mountains 
of India, and to the eastern sea, which approaches close to 
them, from the mountains situated above Colchis, and the 
Euxine Sea. These are the mountains to which the Greeks 
give the name of Caucasus, and are distant more than 30,000 
stadia from India. Here they lay the scene of Prometheus 
and his chains, for these were the farthest places towards the 
east with which the people of those times were acquainted. 
The expeditions of Bacchus and of Hercules against the 
Indi indicate a mythological story of later date, for Hercules 
is said to have released Prometheus a thousand years after he 
was first chained to the rock. It was more glorious too for 
Alexander to subjugate Asia as far as the mountains of India, 
than to the recess only of the Euxine Sea and the Caucasus. 
The celebrity, and the name of the mountain, together with 
the persuasion that Jason and his companions had accom- 
plished the most distant of all expeditions when they had 
arrived in the neighbourhood of the Caucasus, and the tra- 
dition that Prometheus had been chained on Caucasus at the 
extremity of the earth, induced writers to suppose that they 
should gratify the king by transferring the name of the 
mountain to India. 

6. The highest points of the actual Caucasus are the most 
southerly, and lie near Albania, Iberia, the Colchi, and Henio- 
chi. They are inhabited by the people whom I have men- 
tioned as assembling at Dioscurias. They resort thither 
chiefly for the purpose of procuring salt. Of these tribes 
some occupy the heights ; others live in wooded valleys, and 
subsist chiefly on the flesh of wild animals, wild fruits, and 
milk. The heights are impassable in winter ; in summer they 
are ascended by fastening on the feet shoes as wide as drums, 
made of raw hide, and furnished with spikes on account of the 
snow and ice. The natives in descending with their loads 
slide down seated upon skins, which is the practice in Media, 
Atropatia, and at Mount Masius in Armenia, but there they 
fasten circular disks of wood with spikes to the soles of their 
feet. Such then is the nature of the heights of Caucasus. 

7. On descending to the country lying at the foot of these 
heights the climate is more northerly, but milder, for the 
land below the heights joins the plains of the Siraces. There 
are some tribes of Troglodytse who inhabit caves on account 



B. XI. c. VI. § 1. THE CASPIAN. 239 

of the cold. There is plenty^ of grain to be had in the 
country. 

Next to the Troglodytae are Chamaecoetse,^ and a tribe called 
Poljphagi (the voracious), and the villages of the Eisadici, 
who are able to cultivate the ground because they are not 
altogether exposed to the north. 

8. Immediately afterwards follow shepherd tribes, situated 
between the Maeotis and the Caspian Sea, Nabiani, Pangani,^ 
the tribes also of the Siraces and Aorsi. 

The Aorsi and Siraces seem to be a fugitive people from 
parts situated above. The Aorsi lie more to the north.^ 

Abeacus, king of the Siraces, when Pharnases occupied 
the Bosporus, equipped 20,000 horse, and Spadines, king of 
the Aorsi 200,000, and the Upper Aorsi even a larger body, 
for they were masters of a greater extent of territory, and 
nearly the largest part of the coast of the Caspian Sea was 
under their power. They were thus enabled to transport on 
camels the merchandise of India and Babylonia, receiving 
it from Armenians and Medes. They wore gold also in their 
dress in consequence of their wealth. 

The Aorsi live on the banks of the Tanais, and the Siraces 
on those of Achardeus, which rises in Caucasus, and dis- 
charges itself into the Maeotis. 



CHAPTER VI. 



1 . The second portion of northern Asia begins from the 
Caspian Sea, where the first terminates. This sea is called 
also the Hyrcanian Sea. We must first speak of this sea, and 
of the nations that live near its shores. 

It is a bay extending from the Ocean to the south. At its 
commencement it is very narrow ; as it advances further in- 
wards, and particularly towards the extremity, it widens to 
the extent of about 500 stadia. The voyage from the entrance 

' Groskurd reads uTropia, want, instead of sviropia, plenty. 

' XafiaiKoirai. People who lie on the ground. 

' Panxani, Paxani, Penzani. ♦ The text is here corrupt. 



240 STRABO. Casaub. 507. 

to the extremity may exceed that a little, the entrance ap- 
proaching very near the uninhabited regions. 

Eratosthenes says that the navigation of this sea was known 
to the Greeks, that the part of the voyage along the coast of 
the Albanians and Cadusii ^ comprised 5400 stadia ; and the 
part along the country of the Anariaci, Mardi, [or Amardi,] 
and Hyrcani, as far as the mouth of the river Oxus,^ 4800 
stadia, and thence to the laxartes ^ 2400 stadia. 

But with respect to the places situated in this portion of 
Asia, and to those lying so far removed from our own coun- 
try, we must not understand the accounts of writers in too 
literal a sense, particularly with regard to distances. 

2. Upon sailing into the Caspian, on the right hand, con- 
tiguous to the Europeans, Scythians and Sarmatians occupy 
the country between the Tanais and this sea ; they are chiefly 
Nomades, or shepherd tribes, of whom I have already spoken. 
On the left hand are the Eastern Scythian Nomades, who 
extend as far as the Eastern sea, and India. 

The ancient Greek historians called all the nations towards 
the north by the common name of Scythians, and Kelto- Scy- 
thians. Writers still more ancient than these called the nations 
living above the Euxine, Danube, and Adriatic, Hyperboreans, 
Sauromatae, and Arimaspi.^ But in speaking of the nations 
on the other side the Caspian Sea, they called some Sacae,^ 
others Massagetse. They were unable to give any exact ac- 
count of them, although they relate the history of the war of 
Cyrus with the Massagetae. Concerning these nations no one 
has ascertained the truth, and the ancient histories of Persia, 
Media, and Syria have not obtained much credit on account of 
the credulity of the writers and their love of fable. 

3. For these authors, having observed that those who pro- 
fessedly were writers of fables obtained repute and success, 
supposed that they also should make their writings agreeable, 

^ The country occupied by the Cadusii of whom Eratosthenes speaks 
appears to have been the Ghilan, a name probably derived from the 
Gelae, who are constantly associated with the Cadusii. 

2 The Gihon. » The Sihon. 

* i. e. the Hyperboreans above the Adriatic, the Sauromatfe above the 
Danube, and the Arimaspi above the Euxine. 

* The name Sacae is to be traced in Sakita, a district on the confines of 
those of Vash and Gil, situated on the north of the Gihon or Oxus, con- 
sequently in ancient Sogdiana. D'Anville. 



B. XI, c. VII. § 1. HYRCANIA. 241 

if, under the form of history, they related what they had 
never seen nor heard, (not at least from eye-witnesses,) and 
had no other object than to please and surprise the reader. 
A person would more readily believe the stories of the heroes 
in Hesiod, Homer, and in the tragic poets, than Ctesias, He- 
rodotus, Hellanicus, and writers of this kind. 

4. We cannot easily credit the generality of the historians of 
Alexander, for they practise deception with a view to en- 
hance the glory of Alexander ; the expedition also was direct- 
ed to the extremities of Asia, at a great distance from our 
country, and it is difficult to ascertain or detect the truth or 
falsehood of what is remote. The dominion of the Romans 
and of the Parthians has added very much to former dis- 
coveries, and the writers who speak of these people describe 
nations and places, where certain actions were performed, in a 
manner more likely to produce belief than preceding historians, 
for they had better opportunities of personal observation. 



CHAPTER VII. 



1. The nomades, or wandering tribes, who live on the left 
side of the coast on entering the Caspian Sea, are called by 
the moderns Dahas, and surnamed Parni.^ Then there inter- 
venes a desert tract, which is followed by Hyrcania ; here the 
Caspian spreads like a deep sea till it approaches the Median 
and Armenian mountains. The shape of these hills at the 
foot is lunated.- Their extremities terminate at the sea, and 
form the recess of the bay. 

A small part of this country at the foot of the mountains, 
as far as the heights, if we reckon from the sea, is inhabited by 
some tribes of Albanians and Armenians, but the greater por- 
tion by Gelae, Cadusii, Amardi, Vitii, and Anariacae. It is said, 
that some Parrhasii were settled together with the Anariacas, 
who are now called Parrhasii, (Parsii ?) and that the ^nianes 
built a walled city in the territory of the Vitii, which city is 

' C. viii. § 2. 

' At ubi coepit in latitudinem pandi lunatis obliquatur cornibus. Pliny, 
N. H. 

VOL. II. B 



242 STRABO. Casaub. 508. 

now called ^nlana (^nia). Grecian armour, brazen vessels, 
and sepulchres are shown there. There also is a city Ana- 
riacae, in which it is said an oracle is shown, where the 
answer is given to those who consult it, during sleep, [and 
some vestiges of Greek colonization, but all these] tribes are 
predatory, and more disposed to war than husbandry, which 
arises from the rugged nature of the country. The greater 
part of the coast at the foot of the mountainous region is oc- 
cupied by Cadusii, to the extent of nearly 5000 stadia, accord- 
ing to Patrocles, who thinks that this sea equals the Euxine 
in size. These countries are sterile. 

2. Hyrcania ^ is very fertile, and extensive, consisting for 
the most part of plains, and has considerable cities dispersed 
throughout it, as Talabroce, Samariane, Carta, and the royal 
residence, Tape,^ which is said to be situated a little above 
the sea, and distant 1400 stadia from the Caspian Gates. The 
following facts are narrated as indications of the fertility of 
the country.^ The vine produces a metretes^ of wine; the 
fig-tree sixty medimni ^ of fruit ; the corn grows from the 
seed which falls out of the stalk ; bees make their hives in 
the trees, and honey drops from among the leaves. This is 
the case also in the territory of Matiane in Media, and in the 
Sacasene, and Araxene of Armenia.® 

But neither this country, nor the sea which is named after 
it, has received proper care and attention from the inhabit- 
ants, for there are no vessels upon the sea, nor is it turned to 
any use. According to some writers there are islands on it, ca- 
pable of being inhabited, in which gold is found. The cause of 
this neglect is this ; the first governors of Hyrcania were 
barbarians, Medes, and Persians, and lastly, people who were 
more oppressive than these, namely, Parthians. The whole 
of the neighbouring country was the haunt of robbers and 
wandering tribes, and abounded with tracts of desert land. 
For a short time Macedonians were sovereigns of the country, 
but being engaged in war were unable to attend to remote 

• See b. ii. c. i. § 14. 

' These names have here probably undergone some change. Talabroce 
may be the Tambraee or Tembrax of Polybius ; Samariane, the Soconax 
of Ptolemy ; Carta, Zadra-Carta; and Tape, the Syrinx of Polybius. 

' The text is here corrupt. 

* About 7 gallons. * About 12 gallons. « B. ii. c. i. § 14. 



B. XI. c. VII. § 3, 4. HYRCANIA. 243 

possessions. Aristobulus says that Hyrcania has forests, and 
produces the oak, but not the pitch pine,^ nor the fir,^ nor the 
pine,^ but that India abounds with these trees. 

Nessea * belongs to Hyrcania, but some writers make it an 
independent district. 

3. Hyrcania is watered by the rivers Ochus and Oxus as 
far as their entrance into the sea. The Ochus flows through 
Nessea, but some writers say that the Ochus empties itself 
into the Oxus. 

Aristobulus avers that the Oxus was the largest river, ex- 
cept those in India, which he had seen in Asia. He says 
also that it is navigable with ease, (this circumstance both 
Aristobulus and Eratosthenes borrow from Patrocles,) and 
that large quantities of Indian merchandise are conveyed by 
it to the Hyrcanian Sea, and are transferred from thence into 
Albania by the Cyrus, and through the adjoining countries to 
the Euxine. The Ochus is not often mentioned by the an- 
cients, but Apollodorus, the author of the Parthica, frequently 
mentions it, [and describes it] as flowing very near the Par- 
thians. 

4. Many additional falsehoods were invented respecting 
this sea, to flatter the ambition of Alexander and his love of 
glory ; for, as it was generally acknowledged that the river 
Tanais separated Europe from Asia throughout its whole 
course, and that a large part of Asia, lying between this sea 
and the Tanais, had never been subjected to the power of the 
Macedonians, it was resolved to invent an expedition, in order 
that, according to fame at least, Alexander might seem to 
have conquered those countries. They therefore made the 
lake Maeotis, which receives the Tanais, and the Caspian Sea, 
which also they call a lake, one body of water, affirming that 
there was a subterraneous opening between both, and that 
one was part of the other. Polycleitus produces proofs to 
show that this sea is a lake, for instance, that it breeds ser- 
pents, and that the water is sweetish.^ That it was not a dif- 

' -KiVKr). * IXcLTIfi. ^ TTITVQ. 

* The country here spoken of appears to be that celebrated from the 
earliest times for its breed of horses to which the epithet Nessean was 
applied by ancient writers. See c. xiii. § 7. 

' The modern name is uncertain. 

* The same statement was made to Pompey, when in these regions in 
pursuit of Mithridates. 

R 2 



244 STRABO. Casaub. 510. 

ferent lake from the Mseotis, he conjectures from the circum- 
stance of the Tanai's discharging itself into it. From the 
same mountains in India, where the Ochus and the Oxus rise, 
many other rivers take their course, and among these the 
laxartes, which like the former empties itself into the Cas- 
pian Sea, although it is the most northerly of them all. This 
river then they called Tanais, and alleged, as a proof that it 
was the Tanais mentioned by Polycleitus, that the country on 
the other side of the river produced the fir-tree, and that the 
Scythians there used arrows made of fir-wood. It was a 
proof also that the country on the other side of the river was 
a part of Europe and not of Asia, that Upper and Eastern Asia 
do not produce the fir-tree. But Eratosthenes says that the 
fir does grow even in India, and that Alexander built his 
ships of that wood. Eratosthenes collects many things of this 
kind, with a view to show their contradictory character. But 
I have said enough about them. 

5. Among the peculiarities recorded of the Hyrcanian sea, 
Eudoxus and others relate the following. There is a certain 
coast in front of the sea hollowed out into caverns, between 
which and the sea there lies a flat shore. Rivers on reaching 
this coast descend from the precipices above with sufficient force 
to dart the water into the sea without wetting the intervening 
shore, so that even an army could pass underneath sheltered 
by the stream above. The inhabitants frequently resort to 
this place for the purposes of festivity and of performing 
sacrifices, one while reclining beneath the caverns, at another 
basking in the sun (even) beneath the fall of water. They 
divert themselves in various ways, having in sight on each 
side the sea and shore, the latter of which by the dew [and 
moisture of the falls] is rendered a grassy and flowery meadow. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



1. In proceeding from the Hyrcanian Sea towards the east, 
on the right hand are the mountains which the Greeks call 
Taurus, extending as far as India. They begin from Pam- 
phylia and Cilicia, and stretch to this part from the west in 
a continuous line, bearing different names in different places. 



B. XI. c. VIII. § 2. SAC JE. MASSAGETiE. 245 

The northern parts* of this range are occupied first by Gelae, 
Cadusii, and Amardi, as we have said, and by some tribes of 
Hyrcanians ; then follow, as we proceed towards the east 
and the Ochus, the nation of the Parthians, then that of the 
Margiani and Arii, and the desert country which the river 
Sarnius separates from Hyrcania. The mountain, which ex- 
tends to this country, or within a small distance of it, from 
Armenia, is called Parachoathras. 

From the Hyrcanian sea to the Arii are about 6000 stadia.'^ 
Next follow Bactriana, Sogdiana, and lastly nomade Scythians. 
The Macedonians gave the name of Caucasus to all the 
mountains which follow after Ariana,^ but among the bar- 
barians the heights and the northern parts of the Parapo- 
misus were called Emoda, and Mount Imaus;"* and other 
names of this kind were assigned to each portion of this 
range. 

2. On the left hand^ opposite to these parts are situated 
the Scythian and nomadic nations, occupying the whole of 
the northern side. Most of the Scythians, beginning from 
the Caspian Sea, are called Dahoe Scythae, and those situated 
more towards the east Massagetae and Sacae ; the rest have 
the common appellation of Scythians, but each separate tribe 
has its peculiar name. All, or the greatest part of them, are 
nomades. The best known tribes are those who deprived 
the Greeks of Bactriana, the Asii, Pasiani, ( Asiani ?) Tochari, 
and Sacarauli, who came from the country on the other side 
of the laxartes,^ opposite the Sacae and Sogdiani, and which 
country was also occupied by Sacae ; some tribes of the 
Dahae are surnamed Aparni, some Xanthii, others Pissuri.'' 

•• avTov in this passage, as Kramer remarks, is singular. 

^ From what point our author does not say. 

^ There is some confusion in the text, which Groskurd attempts to 
amend as follows: "But among the barbarians the heights of Ar'ana, 
and the northern mountains of India, are separately called Emoda, &c. 

♦ B. XV. c. i. § 11. The name is derived from the Sanscrit himavat, 
which is preserved in the Latm hiems, winter, and in the modern name 
Himalaya. See Smith, art. Imaus. 

* On advancing from the S. E. of the Hyrcanian Sea towards the E. 
« The Syr-Daria. 

' Aparni, Xanthii, and Pissuri, in this passage, seem to be the same as 
Pami, Xandii, and Parii, in c. ix. § 3, if we may understand in the pre- 
sent passage these people to be referred to only by name, but not as 
living in the country here described. 



246 STRABO. Casaub. 511. 

The Aparni approacli the nearest of any of these people to 
Hyrcania, and to the Caspian Sea. The others extend as far 
as the country opposite to Aria. 

3. Between these people, Hyrcania, and Parthia as far as 
Aria lies a vast and arid desert, which they crossed by long 
journeys, and overran Hyrcania, the Nesaean country, and 
the plains of Parthia. These people agreed to pay a tribute 
on condition of having permission to overrun the country at 
stated times, and to carry away the plunder. But when these 
incursions became more frequent than the agreement allowed, 
war ensued, afterwards peace was made, and then again war 
was renewed. Such is the kind of life which the otlier No- 
mades also lead, continually attacking theu' neighbours, and 
then making peace with them. 

4. The Sacae had made incursions similar to those of the 
Cimmerians and Treres, some near their own country, others 
at a greater distance. They occupied Bactriana, and got 
possession of the most fertile tract in Armenia, which was 
called after their own name, Sacasene. They advanced even 
as far as the Cappadocians, those particularly situated near 
the Euxine ; who are now called Pontici. When they were 
assembled together and feasting on the division of the booty, 
they were attacked by night by the Persian generals who 
were then stationed in that quarter, and were utterly exter- 
minated. The Persians raised a mound of earth in the form 
of a hill over a rock in the plain, (where this occurred,) and 
fortified it. They erected there a temple to Anaitis and the 
gods Omanus and Anadatus, Persian deities who have a 
common altar.^ They also instituted an annual festival, (in 
memory of the event,) the Sacaea, which the occupiers of Zela, 
for this is the name of the place, celebrate to this day. It is 
a small city chiefly appropriated to the sacred attendants. 
Pompey added to it a considerable tract of territory, the in- 
habitants of which he collected within the walls. It was one 
of the cities which he settled after the overthrow of Mi- 
thridates. 

5. Such is the account which is given of the Sacaa by some 
writers. Others say, that Cyrus in an expedition against the 

' These gods, otherwise unknown, are mentioned again in b. xv. c. iii. 
{ 15. 



B. XI. c. VIII, § 6. SAC^. MASSAGETJE. 24? 

Sacae was defeated, and fled. He advanced with his army to 
the spot where he had left his stores, consisting of large sup- 
plies of every kind, particularly of wine ; he stopped a short 
time to refresh his army, and set out in the evening, as 
though he continued his flight, the tents being left full of pro- 
visions. He proceeded as far as he thought requisite, and 
then halted. The Sacas pursued, who, finding the camp aban- 
doned and full of the means of gratifying their appetites, in- 
dulged themselves without restraint. Cyrus then returned 
and found them drunk and frantic ; some were killed, stretch- 
ed on the ground drowsy or asleep ; others, dancing and mad- 
dened with wine, fell defenceless on the weapons of their 
enemies. Nearly all of them perished. Cyrus ascribed 
this success to the gods ; he consecrated the day to the god- 
dess worshipped in his own country, and called it Sacaea. 
Wherever there is a temple of this goddess, there the Sacsean 
festival, a sort of Bacchanalian feast, is celebrated, in which 
both men and women, dressed in the Scythian habit, pass day 
and night in drinking and wanton play. 

6. The Massagetae signalized their bravery in the war with 
Cyrus, of which many writers have published accounts ; we 
must get our information from them. Such particulars as 
the following are narrated respecting this nation ; some 
tribes inhabit mountains, some plains, others live among 
marshes formed by the rivers, others on the islands among the 
marshes. The Araxes is said to be the river which is the chief 
cause of inundating the country ; it is divided into various 
branches and discharges itself by many mouths into the other 
sea^ towards the north, but by one only into the Hyrcanian 
Gulf. The Massagetse regard no other deity than the sun, and 
to his honour they sacrifice a horse. Each man marries only 
one wife, but they have intercourse with the wives of each 
other without any concealment. He who has intercourse with 
the wife of another man hangs up his quiver on a waggon, 
and lies with her openly. They account the best mode of 
death to be chopped up when they grow old with the flesh of 
sheep, and both to be devoured together. Those who die of 
disease are cast out as impious, and only fit to be the prey of 
wild beasts ; they are excellent horsemen, and also fight well 
on foot. They use bows, swords, breastplates, and sagares 
* The Northern Ocean. 



248 STRABO. Casaur. 513. 

of brass, they w^ear golden belts, and turbans ^ on their heads 
in battle. Their horses have bits of gold, and golden breast- 
plates ; they have no silver, iron in small quantity, but gold 
and brass in great plenty. 

7. Those v^ho live in the islands have no corn-fields. Their 
food consists of roots and wild fruits. Their clothes are made 
of the bark of trees, for they have no sheep. They press out 
and drink the juice of the fruit of certain trees. 

The inhabitants of the marshes eat fish. They are clothed 
in the skins of seals, which come upon the island from the sea. 

The mountaineers subsist on wild fruits. They have be- 
sides a few sheep, but they kill them sparingly, and keep 
them for the sake of their wool and milk. Their clothes 
they variegate by steeping them in dyes, which produce a 
colour not easily efiaced. 

The inhabitants of the plains, although they possess land, 
do not cultivate it, but derive their subsistence from their 
fiocks, and from fish, after the manner of the nomades and 
Scythians. I have frequently described a certain way of life 
common to all these people. Their burial-places and their 
manners are alike, and their whole manner of living is inde- 
pendent, but rude, savage, and hostile ; in their compacts, how- 
ever, they are simple and without deceit. 

8. The Attasii (Augasii ?) and the Chorasmii belong to 
the Massagetae and Sacae, to whom Spitamenes directed his 
flight from Bactria and Sogdiana. He was one of the Per- 
sians who, like Bessus, made his escape from Alexander by 
flight, as Arsaces afterwards fled from Seleucus Callinicus, 
and retreated among the Aspasiacae. 

Eratosthenes says, that the Bactrians lie along the Arachoti 
and Massagetae on the west near the Oxus, and that Sacae and 
Sogdiani, through the whole extent of their territory,^ are op- 
posite to India, but the Bactrii in part only, for the greater part 
of their country lies parallel to the Parapomisus ; that the 
Sac£e and Sogdiani are separated by the laxartes, and the 
Sogdiani and Bactriani by the Oxus ; that Tapyri occupy 
the country between Hyrcani and Arii ; that around the 
shores of the sea, next to the Hyrcani, are Amardi, Anariacae, 
Cadusii, Albani, Caspii, Vitii, and perhaps other tribes ex- 
tending as far as the Scythians ; that on the other side of the 
' diadfifiaTU. ^ toXq oXoig idd(p£(jiv. 



B. XI. c. VIII. § 9. SAC^. MASSAGETtE. 



249 



Hyrcani are Derbices, that the Caducii are contiguous both to 
the Medes and Matiani below the Parachoathras. 
9. These are the distances which he gives. 

Stadia. 

From the Caspian Sea to the Cyrus about 1800 

Thence to the Caspian Gates . . . 5600 

Thence to Alexandreia in the territory of the } q^qq 

Arii ....... j 

Thence to the city Bactra, which is called alsol 3370 
Zariaspa ...... J 

Thence to the river laxartes, which Alexander \ 5000 
reached, about ..... J 

Making a total of 22,670 

He also assigns the following distances from the Caspian 
Gates to India. 

Stadia. 

To Hecatompylos ^ 1960 

To Alexandreia^ in the country of the Arii ) 4/^Qo 

(Ariana) ...... j 

Thence to Prophthasia^ in Dranga'* . \ i/^qq 

(or according to others 1500) . . j 

Thence to the city Arachoti^ . . 4120 

Thence to Ortospana on the three roads from ) oooo 

Bactra^ J 

Thence to the confines of India . . . 1000 



Which together amount to . . . 15,300^ 

^ There is great doubt where it was situated ; the distances recorded by 
ancient writers not corresponding accurately with known ruins. It has 
been supposeji that Damgham corresponds best with this place; but 
Damgham is too near the Pylae Caspiae : on the whole it is probable that 
any remains of Hecatompylos ought to be sought in the neighbourhood 
of a place now called Jah Jirm. Smithy art. Hecatompylos. 

2 Now Herat, the capital of Khorassan. See Smith, art. Aria Civitas. 

' Zarang:. ♦ Sigistan. 

* Ulan Robat, but see Smith, art. Arachotus. 

6 Balkh. See Smith. 

' The sum total is 15,210 stadia, and not 15,300 stadia. This latter 
sum total is to be found again in b, xv, c. ii. § 8, but the passage there 
referred to has served to correct a still greater error in the reading of 
this chapter, viz. 15,500. Corrections of the te^t have been proposed, but 
their value is doubtful. 



250 STRABO. Casaub. 514. 

We must regard as continuous with this distance, in a straight 
line, the length of India, reckoned from the Indus to the 
Eastern Sea. 

Thus much then respecting the Sacse. 



CHAPTER IX. 



1. Parthia is not an extensive tract of country; for this 
reason it was united with the Hyrcani for the purpose of pay- 
ing tribute under the Persian dominion and afterwards, during 
a long period when the Macedonians were masters of the coun- 
try. Besides its small extent, it is thickly wooded, moun- 
tainous, and produces nothing ; so that the kings with their 
multitude of followers pass with great speed through the 
country, which is unable to furnish subsistence for such num- 
bers even for a short time. At present it is augmented in 
extent. Comisene^ and Chorene are parts of Parthiene, and 
perhaps also the country as far as the Caspian Gates, Rhagae, 
and the Tapyri, which formerly belonged to Media. Apameia 
and Heracleia are cities in the neighbourhood of Rhagae. 

From the Caspian Gates to Rhagas are 500 stadia accord- 
ing to Apollodorus, and to Hecatompylos, the royal seat of 
the Parthians, 1260 stadia. Rhagas^ is said to have had its 
name from the earthquakes which occurred in that country, by 
which many cities and two thousand villages, as Poseidonius 
relates, were overthrown. The Tapyri are said to live be- 
tween the Derbices and the Hyrcani. Historians say, that 
it is a custom among the Tapyri to surrender the married 
women to other men, even when the husbands have had two 
or three children by them, as Cato surrendered Marcia in 
our times, according to an ancient custom of the Romans, to 
Hortensius, at his request. 

2. Disturbances having arisen in the countries beyond the 
Taurus in consequence of the kings of Syria and Media, 
who possessed the tract of which we are speaking, being en- 
gaged in other affairs,^ those who were intrusted with the 

* Its present name is said to be Comis. 2 The Rents. 

3 Adopting Tyrwhitt's conjecture, irpbg dXXoig. 



B. XI. c. IX. § 3. PARTHTA. ARIA. MARGIANA. 



251 



government of it occasioned first the revolt of Bactriana ; 
then Euthydemus and his party the revolt of all the country 
near that province. Afterwards Arsaces, a Scythian, (with 
the Parni, called nomades, a tribe of the Dahae, wlio live on 
the banks of the Ochus,) invaded Parthia, and made himself 
master of it. At first both Arsaces and his successors were 
weakened by maintaining wars with those who had been de- 
prived of their territory. Afterwards they became so powerful, 
in consequence of their successful warfare, continually depriv- 
ing their neighbours of portions of their territory, that at last 
they took possession of all the country within the Euphrates. 
They deprived Eucratidas, and then the Scythians, by force 
of arms, of a part of Bactriana. They now have an empire 
comprehending so large an extent of country, and so many 
nations, that it almost rivals that of the Romans in magnitude. 
This is to be attributed to their mode of life and manners, 
which have indeed much of the barbarous and Scythian cha- 
racter, but are very well adapted for establishing dominion, 
and for insuring success in war. 

3. They say that the Dahas Parni were an emigrant tribe 
from the Dahae above the Meeotis, who are called Xandii 
and Parii. But it is not generally acknowledged that Dahse 
are to be found among the Scythians above the Maeotis, yet 
from these Arsaces according to some was descended ; ac- 
cording to others he was a Bactrian, and withdrawing him- 
self from the increasing power of Diodotus, occasioned the 
revolt of Parthia. 

We have enlarged on the subject of the Parthian customs 
in the sixth book of historical commentaries, and in the second 
of those, which are a sequel to Polybius : we shall omit what 
we said, in order to avoid repetition ; adding this only, that 
Poseidonius afiirms that the council of the Parthians is com- 
posed of two classes, one of relatives, (of the royal family,) 
and another of wise men and magi, by both of which kings 
are chosen. 



CHAPTER X. 



1. Aria and Margiana, which are the best districts in this 
portion of Asia, are partly composed of valleys enclosed by 



252 STRABO Casaub. 516. 

mountains, and partly of inhabited plains. Some tribes of Sce- 
nitse (dwellers in tents) occupy the mountains ; the plains are 
watered by the rivers Arius and by the Margus. 

-^ria borders upon Bactriana, and the mountain ^ which has 
Bactriana at its foot. It is distant from [the] Hyrcania[n 
sea] about 6000 stadia. 

Drangiana as far as Carmania furnished jointly with Aria 
payment of the tribute. The greater part of this country 
is situated at the foot of the southern side of the mountains ; 
some tracts however approach the northern side opposite Aria. 

Arachosia, which belongs to the territory of Aria, is not far 
distant ; it lies at the foot of the southern side of the moun- 
tains, and extends to the river Indus. 

The length of Aria is about 2000 stadia, and the breadth 
of the plain 300 stadia. Its cities are Artacaena, Alexandreia, 
and Achaia, which are called after the names of their founders. 

The soil produces excellent wines, which may be kept for 
three generations in unpitched vessels. 

2. Margiana is like this country, but the plain is surround- 
ed by deserts. Antiochus Soter admired its fertility ; he 
enclosed a circle of 1500 stadia with a wall, and founded a 
city, Antiocheia. The soil is well adapted to vines. They 
say that a vine stem has been frequently seen there which 
would require two men to girth it, and bunches of grapes 
two cubits in size. 



CHAPTER XL 



1. Some parts of Bactria lie along Aria to the north, 
but the greater part stretches beyond (Aria) to the east. It 
is an extensive country, and produces everything except oil. 

The Greeks who occasioned its revolt became so powerful 
by means of the fertility and advantages of the country, that 
they became masters of Ariana and India, according to 
Apollodorus of Artamita. Their chiefs, particularly Menan- 
der, (if he really crossed the Hypanis to the east and reached 
Isamus,)^ conquered more nations than Alexander. These 

' The Parapomisus. Kramer's proposed correction is adopted. 

* For Isamus in the text, Imaus is adopted by Groskurd, and Kramer 



B. XI. c. XI. § 2, 3. BACTRIA. 253 

conquests were achieved partly by Menander, partly by De- 
metrius, son of Euthydemus, king of the Bactrians. They 
got possession not only of Pattalene,^ but of the kingdoms of 
Saraostus, and Sigerdis, which constitute the remainder of the 
coast. Apollodorus in short says that Bactriana is the orna- 
ment of all Ariana. They extended their empire even as far 
as the Seres and Phryni. 

2. Their cities were Bactra, which they call also Zariaspa, 
(a river of the same name flows through it, and empties itself 
into the Oxus,) and Darapsa,^ and many others. Among 
these was Eucratidia, which had its name from Eucratidas, 
the king. When the Greeks got possession of the country, 
they divided it into satrapies ; that of Aspionus and Turiva^ 
the Parthians took from Eucratidas. They possessed Sog- 
diana also, situated above Bactriana to the east, between the 
river Oxus (which bounds Bactriana and Sogdiana) and the 
laxartes ; the latter river separates the Sogdii and the 
nomades. 

3. Anciently the Sogdiani and Bactriani did not differ 
much from the nomades in their mode of life and manners, 
yet the manners of the Bactriani were a little more civilized. 
Onesicritus however does not give the most favourable account 
of this people. Those who are disabled by disease or old age 
are thrown alive to be devoured by dogs kept expressly for 
this purpose, and whom in the language of the country they 
call entombers.'* The places on the exterior of the walls of 
the capital of the Bactrians are clean, but the interior is for 
the most part full of human bones. Alexander abolished this 
custom. Something of the same kind is related of the Caspii 
also, who, when their parents have attained the age of 70 
years, confine them, and let them die of hunger. This cus- 
tom, although Scythian in character, is more tolerable than 
that of the Bactrians, and is similar to the domestic law of 
the Cei ;^ the custom however of the Bactrians is much more 
according to Scythian manners. We may be justly at a loss 

considers this reading highly probable. Isamus is not found in any other 
passage, but Mannert, (Geogr, v. p. 295,) finding in Pliny (N. H. vi. 21, 
§ 17) the river lomanes, proposes to read in this passage 'lofidvov, in 
which he recognises the Jumna. 

* Tatta or Sindi. * Adraspa. B. xv. c. ii. § 10. 

^ Mentioned nowhere else. Kramer seems to approve of Du Theil's 
proposed correction, Tapuria. * iVTa<pia(TTdg. * B. x. c. v. § 6. 



254 STRABO. Casaub. 517. 

to conjecture,^ if Alexander found such customs prevailing 
there, what were the customs which probably were observed 
by them in the time of the first kings of Persia, and of the 
princes v/ho preceded them. 

4. Alexander, it is said, founded eight cities in Bactriana 
and Sogdiana ; some he razed, among which were Cariatae in 
Bactriana, where Callisthenes was seized and imprisoned ; 
Maracanda in Sogdiana, and Cyra, the last of the places 
founded by Cyrus, situated upon the river laxartes, and the 
boundary of the Persian empire. This also, although it was 
attached to Cyrus, he razed on account of its frequent revolts. 

Alexander took also, it is said, by means of treachery, strong 
fortified rocks ; one of which belonged to Sisimithres in Bac- 
triana, where Oxyartes kept his daughter Roxana ; another to 
Oxus in Sogdiana, or, according to some writers, to Aria- 
mazas. The stronghold of Sisimithres is described by his- 
torians to have been fifteen stadia in height, and eighty stadia 
in circuit. On the summit is a level ground, which is fertile 
and capable of maintaining 500 men. Here Alexander was 
entertained with sumptuous hospitality, and here he espoused 
Roxana the daughter of Oxyartes. The height of the fortress 
in Sogdiana is double the height of this. It was near these 
places that he destroyed the city of the Branchida?, whom 
Xerxes settled there, and who had voluntarily accompanied him 
from their own country. They had delivered up to the Per- 
sjans the riches of the god at Didymi, and the treasure there 
deposited. Alexander destroyed their city in abhorrence of 
their treachery and sacrilege. 

5. Aristobulus calls the river, which runs through Sog- 
diana, Polytimetus, a name imposed by the Macedonians, as 
they imposed many others, some of which were altogether 
new, others were deflections ^ from the native appellations. 
This river after watering the country flows through a desert 
and sandy soil, and is absorbed in the sand, like the Arius, 
which flows through the territory of the Arii. 

It is said that on digging near the river Ochus a spring of 
oil was discovered. It is probable, that as certain nitrous, as- 
tringent, bituminous, and sulphurous fluids permeate the 
earth, greasy fluids may be found, but the rarity of their oc- 
currence makes their existence almost doubtful. 
* The text is corrupt. 



B. XI. c. XI. § 6, 7. NORTHERN ASIA. 255 

The course of the Ochus, according to some writers, is 
through Bactriana, according to others parallel to it. Some 
allege that, taking a more southerly direction, it is distinct 
from the Oxus to its mouths, but that they both discharge 
themselves (separately) into the Caspian in Hyrcania. Others 
again say that it is distinct, at its commencement, from the 
Oxus, but that it (afterwards) unites with the latter river, 
having in many places a breadth of six or seven stadia. 

The laxartes is distinct from the Oxus from its commence- 
ment to its termination, and empties itself into the same sea. 
Their mouths, according to Patrocles, are about 80 parasangs 
distant from each other. The Persian parasang some say 
contains 60, others 30 or 40, stadia. 

When I was sailing up the Nile, schoeni of different mea- 
sures were used in passing from one city to another, so that 
the same number of schoeni gave in some places a longer, in 
others a shorter, length to the voyage. This mode of com- 
putation has been handed down from an early period, and is 
continued to the present time. 

6. In proceeding from Hyrcania towards the rising sun as 
far as Sogdiana, the nations beyond (within ?) the Taurus 
were known first to the Persians, and afterwards to the Mace- 
donians and Parthians. The nations lying in a straight line ^ 
above these people are supposed to be Scythian, from their 
resemblance to that nation. But we are not acquainted with 
any expeditions which have been undertaken against them, 
nor against the most northerly tribes of the nomades. Alex- 
ander proposed to conduct his army against them, when he 
was in pursuit of Bessus and Spitamenes, but when Bessus was 
taken prisoner, and Spitamenes put to death by the Barba- 
rians, he desisted from executing his intention. 

It is not generally admitted, that persons have passed 
round by sea from India to Hyrcania, but Patrocles asserts 
that it may be done. 

7. It is said that the termination of Taurus, which is called 
Imaus, approaches close to the Indian Sea, and neither ad- 
vances towards nor recedes from the East more than India 
itself. But on passing to the northern side, the sea contracts 
(throughout the whole coast) the length and breadth of India, 
so as to shorten on the East the portion of Asia we are now 

' i. e. on the same parallel. 



256 STRABO. Casaub. 519. 

describing, comprehended between the Taurus and the North- 
ern Ocean, which forms the Caspian Sea. 

The greatest length of this portion, reckoned frorn the Hyr- 
canian Sea to the (Eastern) Ocean opposite Imaus, is about 
30,000 stadia,^ the route being along the mountainous tract of 
Taurus ; the breadth is less than 10,000 stadia.^ We have 
said before, that^ from the bay of Issus to the eastern sea along 
the coast of India is about 40,000 stadia, and to Issus from 
the western extremities at the pillars 30,000 stadia. The 
recess of the bay of Issus is little, if at all, more to the east 
than Amisus ; from Amisus to Hyrcania is about 10,000 
stadia in a line parallel to that which we have described as 
drawn from the bay of Issus to India. There remains there- 
fore for the portion now delineated the above-mentioned 
length towards the east, namely, 30,000 stadia.'* 

' That is, from the Caspian Gates to Thince. Gossellin. 

^ Strabo does not here determine either the parallel from which we are 
to measure, nor the meridian we are to follow to discover this greatest 
breadth, which according to him is " less than 10,000 stadia." This 
passage therefore seems to present great difficulties. The difficulties 
respecting the parallel can only be perceived by an examination and 
comparison of the numerous passages where our author indicates the 
direction of the chain of mountains which form the Taurus. 

3 I do not see where this statement is to be found, except implicitly. 
Strabo seems to refer us in general to various passages where he endea- 
vours to determine the greatest length of the habitable world, in b. ii. 
Du Theil 

■* I am unable to fix upon the author's train of thought. For immedi- 
ately after having assigned to this portion of the Habitable Earth (whose 
dimensions he wishes to determine) 30,000 stadia as its " greatest length," 
and 10,000 stadia as its "greatest breadth," Strabo proceeds to prove 
what he had just advanced respecting its greatest length. Then he 
should, it seems, have endeavoured to furnish us, in the same manner, 
with a proof that its greatest breadth is not more, as he says, than 10,000. 
But in what follows there is nothing advanced on this point ; all that he 
says is to develope another proposition, viz. that the extent of the Hyr- 
canian — Caspian Sea is at the utmost 6000 stadia. 

The arguments contained in this paragraph on the whole appear to me 
strange; they rest on a basis which it is difficult to comprehend; they 
establish explicitly a proposition which disagrees with what the author 
has said elsewhere, and lastly they present an enormous geographical 
error. 

It will therefore be useful to the reader to explain, as far as I under- 
stand it, the argument of our author. 

1. The exact form of the chlamys is unknown to us, but it was such, that 
its greatest breadth was to be found, if not exactly in, at least near, the 
middle of its length. The Habitable Earth being of the form of a 



B. XI. c. XI. § 7. NORTHERN ASIA. 257 

Again, since the breadth of the longest part of the habitable 
earth, which has the shape of a chlamys, (or a military cloak,) 
is about 30,000 stadia, this distance would be near the meri- 
dian line drawn through the Hyrcanian and the Persian 
Seas, for the length of the habitable earth is 70,000 stadia. 
If therefore from Hyrcania to Artemita^ in Babylonia are 
8000 stadia according to Apollodorus of Artemita, and thence 
to the mouth of the Persian Sea 8000, and again 8000, or a 
little short of that number, to the places on the same parallel 
with the extremities of Ethiopia, there would remain, to 
complete the breadth as I have described it, of the habitable 
earth, the number of stadia^ which I have mentioned, reckon- 
ing from the recess of the Hyrcanian Sea to its mouth. This 
segment of the earth being truncated towards the eastern 
parts, its figure would resemble a cook's knife, for the moun- 
tainous range being prolonged in a straight line, answers to 
the edge, while the shape of the coast from the mouth of the 
Hyrcanian Sea to Tamarus on the other side terminates in a 
circular truncated line. 

Chlamys, its greatest breadth would be found about the middle of its 
greatest length. 

2. The greatest length of the Habitable "World being 70,000 stadia, its 
greatest breadth ought to be found at the distance of 35,000 stadia from 
its eastern or western extremity, but this greatest breadth is only 30,000 
stadia, and it does not extend, on the north, beyond the parallel of the 
mouth of the Hyrcanian Sea. B. ii. 

3. The meridian which passes at the distance of 35,000 stadia from the 
eastern or western extremities of the Habitable Earth, is that which, 
drawn from the mouth of the Hyrcanian Sea to the Northern Ocean, and 
prolonged in another direction through the mouth of the Persian Gulf 
to the sea called Erythraean, would pass through the city Artemita. Con- 
sequently it is on the meridian of Artemita that we must look for the 
greatest breadth of the Habitable Earth. 

4. On this same meridian, we must reckon from the parallel of the 
last habitable country in the south to the mouth of the Persian Gulf, 
about 8000 stadia ; then from the mouth of the Persian Gulf to Artemita, 
8000 stadia ; and from Artemita to the bottom of the Hyrcanian Sea, 
8000 stadia : total 24,000 stadia. 

5. It being established that the breadth of the Habitable Earth is 
30,000 stadia, and not to extend it northwards beyond the parallel of the 
mouth of the Hyrcanian Sea, where it communicates with the Northern 
Ocean, the distance to this point from the bottom of this same sea must 
be calculated at 6000 stadia. Du Theil. 

' The modern Shirban is supposed to occupy its site. 
^ Namely 6000. B. ii. c. i. § 17. 



258 STRABO. Casatjb. 619. 

8. We must mention some of the extraordinary circum- 
stances which are related of those 'tribes which are perfectly 
barbarous, living about Mount Caucasus, and the other moun- 
tainous districts. 

What Euripides expresses in the following lines is said to 
be a custom among them ; 

** they lament the birth of the new-bom on account of the many evils to 
which they are exposed ; but the dead, and one at rest from his troubles, 
is carried forth from his home with joy and gratulation." 

Other tribes do not put to death even the greatest offenders, 
but only banish them from their territories together with 
their children ; which is contrary to the custom of the Der- 
bices, who punish even slight offences with death. The Der- 
bices worship the earth. They neither sacrifice, nor eat the 
female of any animal. Persons who attain the age of above 
seventy years are put to death by them, and their nearest rela- 
tions eat their flesh. Old women are strangled, and then 
buried. Those who die under seventy years of age are not 
eaten, but are only buried. 

The Siginni in general practise Persian customs. They 
have small horses with shaggy hair, but which are not able 
to carry a rider. Four of these horses are harnessed together, 
driven by women, who are trained to this employment from 
childhood. The best driver marries whom she pleases. Some, 
they say, make it their study to appear with heads as long as 
possible, and with foreheads projecting over their chins. 

The Tapyrii have a custom for the men to dress in black, 
and wear their hair long, and the women to dress in white, 
and wear their hair short. [They live between the Derbices 
and Hyrcani.] ^ He who is esteemed the bravest marries 
whom he likes. 

The Caspii starve to death those who are above seventy 
years old, by exposing them in a desert place. The exposed 
are observed at a distance ; if they are dragged from their 
resting-place by birds, they are then pronounced happy ; but 
if by wild beasts, or dogs, less fortunate ; but if by none of 
these, ill-fated. 

* Introduced from the margin according to Groskurd's opinion, sup- 
ported also by Kramer. 



B. XI. c. XII. § 1, 2. MOUNT TAURUS. 259 



CHAPTER XII. 

1. Since the Taurus constitutes the northern parts of Asia, 
which are called also the parts within the Taurus, I propose 
to speak first of these. 

They are situated either entirely, or chiefly, among the 
mountains. Those to the east of the Caspian Gates admit of 
a shorter description on account of the rude state of the peo- 
ple, nor is there much difference whether they are referred to 
one climate^ or the other. All the western countries furnish 
abundant matter for description. We must therefore proceed 
to the places situated near the Caspian Gates. 

Media lies towards the west, an extensive country, and 
formerly powerful ; it is situated in the middle of Taurus, 
which here has many branches, and contains large valleys, as 
is the case in Armenia. 

2. This mountain has its beginning in Caria and Lycia, 
but does not exhibit there either considerable breadth or 
height. It first appears to have a great altitude opposite the 
Chelidoneae,^ which are islands situated in front of the com- 
mencement of the Pamphylian coast. It extends towards 
the east, and includes the long valleys of Cilicia. Then on 
one side the Amanus^ is detached from it, and on the other 
the Anti-Taurus."* In the latter is situated Comana,^ belong- 
ing to the Upper Cappadocia. It terminates in Cataonia, 
but Mount Amanus is continued as far as the Euphrates, and 
Melitene,^ where Commagene extends along Cappadocia. 
It receives the mountains beyond the Euphrates, which are 
continuous with those before mentioned, except the part which 
is intercepted by the river flowing through the middle of them. 

* i. e. To northern or southern Asia. B. ii. c. i. § 20. 

2 There are five islands off the Hiera Acta, which is now Cape Kheli- 
donia. The Greeks still call them Cheledoniae, of which the Italians 
make Celidoni ; and the Turks have adopted the Italian name, and call 
them Shelidan. Smith, art. Chelidonise Insulae. 

3 Amanus descends from the mass of Taurus, and surrounds the Gulf 
of Issus. 

* Dudschik Dagh. 

' It is generally supposed that the modem town Al Bostan on the Si- 
koon, Seihun, or Sarus, is or is near the site of Comana of Cappadocia. 
Smith, art. Comana. « Malatia. 

B 2 



260 STRABO. Casaub. 621. 

Here its height and breadth become greater, and its branches 
more numerous. The Taurus extends the farthest distance 
towards the south, where it separates Armenia from Meso- 
potamia. 

3. From the south flow both rivers, the Euphrates and 
the Tigris, which encircle Mesopotamia, and approach close 
to each other at Babylonia, and then discharge themselves 
into the sea on the coast of Persia. The Euphrates is the 
larger river, and traverses a greater tract of country with a tor- 
tuous course, it rises in the northern part of Taurus, and flows 
toward the west through Armenia the Greater, as it is called, 
to Armenia the Less, having the latter on the right and 
Acilisene on the left hand. It then turns to the south, and 
at its bend touches the boundaries of Cappadocia. It leaves 
this and Commagene on the right hand ; on the left Acili- 
sene and Sophene,^ belonging to the Greater Armenia. It 
proceeds onwards to Syria, and again makes another bend in 
its way to Babylonia and the Persian Gulf. 

The Tigris takes its course from the southern part of the 
same mountains to Seleucia,^ approaches close to the Eu- 
phrates, with which it forms Mesopotamia. It then empties 
itself into the same gulf. 

The sources of the Tigris and of the Euphrates are distant 
from each other about 2500 stadia. 

4. Towards the north there are many forks which branch 
away from the Taurus. One of these is called Anti-Taurus, 
for there the mountain had this name, and includes Sophene 
in a valley situated between Anti-Taurus and the Taurus. 

Next to the Anti-Taurus on the other side of the Euphrates, 
along the Lesser Armenia, there stretches towards the north 
a large mountain with many branches, one of which is called 
Paryadres,^ another the Moschic mountains, and others by 
other names. The Moschic mountains comprehend the whole 
of Armenians as far as the Iberians and Albanians. Other 
mountains again rise towards the east above the Caspian Sea, 
and extend as far as Media the Greater, and the Atropatian- 
Media. They call all these parts of the mountains Paracho- 
athras, as well as those which extend to the Caspian Gates, and 
those still farther above towards the east, which are contigu- 

• Dzophok. '^ Azerbaijan. 

' The range overhanging Cerasus, now Kerasun. 



B. XI. c. XII. § 5. MOUNT TAURUS. 261 

ous to Asia. The following are the names of the mountains 
towards the north. 

The southern mountains on the other side of the Euphrates, 
extending towards the east from Cappadocia and Commagene,^ 
at their commencement have the name of Taurus, which 
separates Sophene and the rest of Armenia from Mesopota- 
mia, but some writers call them the Gordyaean mountains.^ 
Among these is Mount Masius,^ which is situated above Nisi- 
bis,* and Tigranocerta.^ It then becomes more elevated, and 
is called Niphates.^ Somewhere in this part on the southern 
side of the mountainous chain are the sources of the Tigris. 
Then the ridge of mountains continuing to extend from the 
Niphates forms the mountain Zagrius, which separates Media 
and Babylonia. After the Zagrius follows above Babylonia 
the mountainous range of the Elymaei and Paraetaceni, and 
above Media that of the Cossaei. 

In the middle of these branches are situated Media and 
Armenia, which comprise many mountains, and many moun- 
tain plains, as well as plains and large valleys. Numerous 
small tribes live around among the mountains, who are for 
the most part robbers. 

We thus place within the Taurus Armenia and Media, to 
which belong the Caspian Gates. 

5. In our opinion these nations may be considered as situ- 
ated to the north, since they are within the Taurus. But 
Eratosthenes, having divided Asia into southern and northern 
portions, and what he calls seals, (or sections,)"^ designating 
some as northern, others as southern, makes the Caspian 
Gates the boundary of both climates. He might without any 
impropriety have represented the more southern parts of the 
Caspian Gates as in southern Asia, among which are Media 
and Armenia, and the parts more to the north than the Cas- 
pian Gates in northern Asia, which might be the case accord* 
ing to different descriptions of the country. But perhaps 
Eratosthenes did not attend to the circumstance, that there 

* Camasch. The country situated N. W. of the Euphrates in about 
38° lat. 

' The range of Kurdistan on the E. of the Tigris. 
' The range lying between the Euphrates and the Tigris, between 37*> 
and 38° lat. * Nisibin or Netzid. 

* Meja-Farkin, by " above" these cities, would appear to mean over- 
hanging them both, as it is situated between them. 

6 Nepat-Learn. ' B. ii. c. i. § 22. 



262 STRABO. Casaijb. 523. 

is no part of Armenia nor of Media towards the south on the 
other side of the Taurus. 



CHAPTER XIIL 



1. Media is divided into two parts, one of which is called 
the Greater Media. Its capital is Ecbatana,^ a large city- 
containing the royal seat of the Median empire. This palace 
the Parthians continue to occupy even at this time. Here 
their kings pass the summer, for the air of Media is cool. 
Their winter residence is at Seleucia, on the Tigris, near 
Babylon. 

' The other division is Atropatian Media. It had its name 
from Atropatus, a chief who prevented this country, which is 
a part of Greater Media, from being subjected to the domin- 
ion of the Macedonians. When he was made king he 
established the independence of this country ; his successors 
continue to the present day, and have at different times con- 
tracted marriages with the kings of Armenia, Syria, and 
Parthia. 

2. Atropatian Media borders upon Armenia and Matiane ^ 
towards the east, towards the west on the Greater Media, and 
on both towards the north ; towards the south it is contiguous 
to the people living about the recess of the Hyrcanian Sea, 
and to Matiane. 

According to Apollonides its strength is not inconsiderable,- 
since it can furnish 10,000 cavalry and 40,000 infantry. 

It contains a lake called Spauta,^ (Kapauta,) in which salt 
effloresces, and is consolidated. The salt occasions itching and 
pain, but oil is a cure for both, and sweet water restores the 
colour of clothes, which have the appearance of being burnt,"* 
when they have been immersed in the lake by ignorant per- 
sons for the purpose of washing them. 

* Hamadan. 

^ An interpolation; probably introduced from Matiane below. Falconer. 
Kramer. 

^ Its ancient name according to Kramer was Kapotan. Kaputan- 
Dzow, The Blue Lake, now the Lake Urmiah. 

* KaTrvpojOelffiv. Kramer observes that the meaning of the word in 
this passage is not clear. It may possibly mean some colour to which the 
name of the lake was given. 



B. XI. c. XIII. § 3, 4. MEDIA. 263 

They have powerful neighbours in the Armenians and 
Parthians, by whom they are frequently plundered ; they re- 
sist however, and recover what has been taken away, as they 
recovered Symbace ^ from the Armenians, who were defeated 
by the Romans, and they themselves became the friends of 
Caesar. They at the same time endeavour to conciliate the 
Parthians. 

3. The summer palace is at Gazaka, situated in a plain ; 
the winter palace^ is in Vera, a strong fortress which Antony 
besieged in his expedition against the Parthians. The last 
is distant from the Araxes, which separates Armenia and 
Atropatene, 2400 stadia, according to Dellius, the friend of 
Antany, who wrote an account of the expedition of Antony 
against the Parthians, which he himself accompanied, and in 
which he held a command. 

The other parts of this country are fertile, but that towards 
the north is mountainous, rugged, and cold, the abode of the 
mountain tribes of Cadusii Amardi, Tapyri, Curtii, and other 
similar nations, who are migratory, and robbers. These peo- 
ple are scattered over the Zagrus and Niphates. The Curtii 
in Persia, and Mardi, (for so they call the Amardi,) and 
those in Armenia, and who bear the same name at present, 
have the same kind of character. 

4. The Cadusii have an army of foot soldiers not inferior 
in number to that of the Ariani. They are very expert in 
throwing the javelin. In the rocky places the soldiers en- 
gage in battle on foot, instead of on their horses. The ex- 
pedition of Antony was harassing to the army, not by the 
nature of the country, but by the conduct of their guide, 
Artavasdes, king of the Armenii, whom Antony rashly made 
his adviser, and master of his intentions respecting the war, 
when at the same time that prince was contriving a plan for 
his destruction. Antony punished Artavasdes, but too late ; 
the latter had been the cause of many calamities to the 
Romans, in conjunction with another person ; he made the 
march from the Zeugma on the Euphrates to the borders of 
Atropatene to exceed 8000 stadia, or double the distance of 
the direct course, [by leading the army] over mountains, and 
places where there were no roads, and by a circuitous route. 

' It is uncertain whether this is a place, or a district. 
'•* Adopting Groskurd's emendation x^'^H-'^diov. 



264 STRABO. Casaub. 524. 

5. The Greater Media anciently governed the whole of 
Asia, after the overthrow of the Syrian empire : but after- 
wards, in the time of Astyages, the Medes were deprived of 
this extensive sovereignty by Cyrus and the Persians, yet 
they retained much of their ancient importance. Ecbatana 
was the winter (royal ?) residence ^ of the Persian kings, as it 
was of the Macedonian princes, who overthrew the Persian 
empire, and got possession of Syria. It still continues to 
serve the same purpose, and affords security to the kings of 
Parthia. 

6. Media is bounded on the east by Parthia, and by the 
mountains of the Cossaei, a predatory tribe. They once furn- 
ished the Elymaei, whose allies they were in the war against 
the Susii and Babylonians, with 13,000 archers. Nearchus 
says that there were four robber tribes ; the Mardi, who were 
contiguous to the Persians ; the Uxii and Elymaei, who were 
on the borders of the Persians and Susii ; and the Cossaei, on 
those of the Medes ; that all of them exacted tribute from the 
kings ; that the Cossaei received presents, when the king, hav- 
ing passed his summer at Ecbatana went down to Babylonia ; 
that Alexander attacked them in the winter time, and re- 
pressed their excessive insolence. Media is bounded on the 
east by these nations, and by the Paraetaceni, who are con- 
tiguous to the Persians, and are mountaineers, and robbers ; 
on the north by the Cadusii, who live above the Hyrcanian 
Sea, and by other nations, whom we have just enumerated ; 
on the south by the Apolloniatis, which the ancients called 
Sitacene, and by the Zagrus, along which lies Massabatica, 
which belongs to Media, but according to others, to Elymaea ; 
on the west by the Atropatii, and by some tribes of the Ar- 
menians. 

There are also Grecian cities in Media, founded by Mace- 
donians, as Laodiceia, Apameia, Heracleia near Rhagae, and 
Rhaga itself, founded by Nicator, who called it Europus, and 
the Parthians Arsacia, situated about 500 stadia to the south 
of the Caspian Gates, according to Apollodorus of Artemita. 

7. The greater part of Media consists of high ground, and is 
cold ; such are the mountains above Ecbatana, and the places 
about Rhagae and the Caspian Gates, and the northern parts 
in general extending thence as far as Matiane and Armenia. 

' In the text xfifta^tov. Kramer suggests the reading ^aaiKuov. 



B. XI. c. XIII. § 8, 9. MEDIA. 265 

The country below the Caspian Gates consists of flat grounds 
and valleys. It is very fertile, and produces everything except 
the olive, or if it grows anywhere it does not yield oil, and is 
dry. The country is peculiarly adapted, as well as Armenia, 
for breeding horses. There is a meadow tract called Hippo- 
botus, which is traversed by travellers on their way from 
Persia and Babylonia to the Caspian Gates. Here, it is said, 
fifty thousand mares were pastured in the time of the Per- 
sians, and were the king's stud. The Nesaean horses, the 
best and largest in the king's province, were of this breed, 
according to some writers, but according to others they came 
from Armenia. Their shape is peculiar, as is that of the Par- 
thian horses, compared with those of Greece and others in our 
country. 

The herbage which constitutes the chief food of the horses 
we call peculiarly by the name of Medic, from its growing in 
Media in great abundance. The country produces Silphium,* 
from which is obtained the Medic juice, much inferior to the 
Cyrenaic, but sometimes it excels the latter, which may be 
accounted for by the difference of places, or from a change 
the plant may undergo, or from the mode of extracting and 
preparing the juice so as to continue good when laid by 
for use. 

8. Such then is the nature of the country with respect to 
magnitude ; its length and breadth are nearly equal. The 
greatest breadth (length P)^ however seems to be that reckoned 
from the pass across the Zagrus, which is called the Median 
Gate, to the Caspian Gates, through the country of ,Sigriana, 
4100 stadia. 

The account of the tribute paid agrees with the extent and 
wealth of the country. Cappadocia paid to the Persians 
yearly, in addition to a tribute in silver, 1500 horses, 2000 
mules, and 50,000 sheep, and the Medes contributed nearly 
double this amount. 

9. Many of their customs are the same as those of the Arme- 
nians, from the similarity of the countries which they in- 
habit. The Medes however were the first to communicate 
them to the Armenians, and still before that time to the Per- 
sians, who were their masters, and successors in the empire 
of Asia. 

' Lucerne? ' Groskurd proposes " length." 



266 8TRAB0. Casaub. 626. 

The Persian stole, as it is now called, the pursuit of archery 
and horsemanship, the court paid to their kings, their attire, 
and veneration fitting for gods paid by the subjects to the 
prince, — these the Persians derived from the Medes. That 
this is the fact appears chiefly from their dress. A tiara, a 
citaris, a hat,^ tunics with sleeves reaching to the hands, and 
trowsers, are proper to be worn in cold and northerly places, 
such as those in Media, but they are not by any means adapt- 
ed to inhabitants of the south. The Persians had their 
principal settlements on the Gulf of Persia, being situated 
more to the south than the Babylonians and the Susii. But 
after the overthrow of the Medes they gained possession of 
some tracts of country contiguous to Media. The custom 
however of the vanquished appeared to the conquerors to be 
so noble, and appropriate to royal state, that instead of naked- 
ness or scanty clothing, they endured the use of the feminine 
stole, and were entirely covered with dress to the feet. 

10. Some writers say that Medeia, when with Jason she 
ruled in these countries, introduced this kind of dress, and 
concealed her countenance as often as she appeared in public 
in place of the king ; that the memorials of Jason are, the 
Jasonian heroa,^ held in great reverence by the Barbarians, 
(besides a great mountain above the Caspian Gates on the 
left hand, called Jasonium,) and that the memorials of Medeia 
are the kind of dress, and the name of the country. Medus, her 
son, is said to have been her successor in the kingdom, and 
the country to have been called after his name. In agreement 
with this are the Jasonia in Armenia, the name of the coun- 
try, and many other circumstances which we shall mention. 

11. It is a Median custom to elect the bravest person as 
king, but this does not generally prevail, being confined to 
the mountain tribes. The custom for the kings to have many 
wives is more general, it is found among all the mountaineers 
also, but they are not permitted to have less than five. In the 
same manner the women think it honourable for husbands to 
have as many wives as possible, and esteem it a misfortune if 
they have less than five. 

While the rest of Media is very fertile, the northern and 
mountainous part is barren. The people subsist upon tlie 
produce of trees. They make cakes of apples, sliced and 
' TrlXog. 2 Heroic monuments of Jason. 



B. XI. c. XIV. § 1, 2. ARMENIA. 267 

dried, and bread of roasted almonds ; they express a wine 
from some kind of roots. They eat the flesh of wild animals, 
and do not breed any tame animals. So much then respect- 
ing the Medes. As to the laws and customs in common use 
throughout the whole of Media, as they are the same as those 
of the Persians in consequence of the establishment of the 
Persian empire, I shall speak of them when I give an ac- 
count of the latter nation. 



CHAPTER XIV. 



1. The southern parts of Armenia lie in front of the Tau- 
rus, which separates Armenia from the whole of the country 
situated between the Euphrates and the Tigris, and which is 
called Mesopotamia. The eastern parts are contiguous to 
the Greater Media, and to Atropatene. To the north are the 
range of the mountains of Parachoathras lying above the 
Caspian Sea, the Albanians, Iberians, and the Caucasus. The 
Caucasus encircles these nations, and approaches close to the 
Armenians, the Moschic and Colchic mountains, and ex- 
tends as far as the country of the people called Tibareni. On 
the west are these nations and the mountains Paryadres and 
Scydises, extending to the Lesser Armenia, and the country 
on the side of the Euphrates, which divides Armenia from 
Cappadocia and Commagene. 

2. The Euphrates rises in the northern side of the Tau- 
rus, and flows at first towards the west through Armenia, it 
then makes a bend to the south, and intersects the Taurus 
between the Armenians, Cappadocians, and Commageni. 
Then issuing outwards and entering Syria, it turns towards 
the winter sun-rise as far as Babylon, and forms Mesopotamia 
with the Tigris. Both these rivers terminate in the Persian 
Gulf. 

Such is the nature of the places around Armenia, almost 
all of them mountainous and rugged, except a few tracts 
which verge towards Media. 

To the above-mentioned Taurus, which commences again 
in the country on the other side of the Euphrates, occupied 



268 STRABO. Casaub. 527. 

by the Commageni, and Meliteni formed by the Euphrates, 
belongs Mount Masius, which is situated on the south above 
the Mygdones in Mesopotamia, in whose territory is Nisibis ; 
on the northern parts is Sophene, lying between the Masius 
and Anti-Taurtis. Anti-Taurus begins from the Euphrates and 
the Taurus, and terminates at the eastern parts of Armenia, 
enclosing within it Sophene. It has on the other side Acili- 
sene, which lies between [Anti-] Taurus and the bed of the 
Euphrates before it turns to the south. The royal city of 
Sophene is Carcathiocerta.^ 

Above Mount Masius far to the east along Gordyene is the 
Niphates, then the Abus,^ from which flow both the Euphrates 
and the Araxes, the former to the west, the latter to the east ; 
then the Nibarus, which extends as far as Media. 

3. We have described the course of the Euphrates. The 
Araxes, after running to the east as far as Atropatene, makes 
a bend towards the west and north. It then first flows beside 
Azara, then by Artaxata,^ a city of the Armenians ; afterwards 
it passes through the plain of Araxenus to discharge itself 
into the Caspian Sea. 

4. There are many mountains in Armenia, and many 
mountain plains, in which not even the vine grows. There 
are also many valleys, some are moderately fertile, others 
are very productive, as the Araxenian plain, through which 
the river Araxes flows to the extremities of Albania, and 
empties itself into the Caspian Sea. Next is Sacasene, 
which borders upon Albania, and the river Cyrus ; then 
Gogarene. All this district abounds with products of the soil, 
cultivated fruit trees and evergreens. It bears also the olive. 

There is Phauene, (Phanenae, Phasiana ?) a province of Ar- 
menia, Comisene, and Orchistene, which furnishes large bo- 
dies of cavalry. 

* Kharput. 

^ An almost uniform tradition has pointed out an isolated peak of this 
range as the Ararat of Scripture. It is still called Ararat or Agri-Dagh, 
and by the Persians Kuh-il-Nuh, mountain of Noah. Smith. 

3 Formerly the mass of ruins called Takt-Tiridate, (Throne of Tiri- 
dates,) near the junction of the Aras and the Zengue, were supposed to 
represent the ancient Artaxata. Col. Monteith fixes the site at a remark- 
able bend of the river somewhat lower down than this. See Smith, art. 
Artaxata. 



». XI. c. XIV. § 5, 6. ARMENIA. 269 

Chorzene ^ and Cambysene are the most northerly countries, 
and particularly subject to falls of snow. They are contigu- 
ous to the Caucasian mountains, to Iberia, and Colchis. 
Here, they say, on the passes over mountains, it frequently 
happens that whole companies of persons have been over- 
whelmed in violent snow-storms. Travellers are provided 
against such dangerous accidents with poles, which they force 
upwards to the surface of the snow, for the purpose of breath- 
ing, and of signifying their situation to other travellers who 
may come that way, so that they may receive assistance, be 
extricated, and so escape alive. 

They say that hollow masses are consolidated in the snow, 
which contain good water, enveloped as in a coat ; that ani- 
mals are bred in the snow, which Apollonides caU scoleces,^ 
and Theophanes, thripes, and that these hollow masses con 
tain good water, which is obtained by breaking open their 
coats or coverings. The generation of these animals is sup- 
posed to be similar to that of the gnats, (or mosquitos,) from 
flames, and the sparks in mines. 

5. According to historians, Armenia, which was formerly 
a small country, was enlarged by Artaxias and Zariadris, 
who had been generals of Antiochus the Great, and at last, 
after his overthrow, when they became kings, (the former 
of Sophene, Acisene, (Amphissene ?) Odomantis, and some 
other places, the latter of the country about Artaxata,) they 
simultaneously aggrandized themselves, by taking away por- 
tions of the territory of the surrounding nations : from the 
Medes they took the Caspiana, Phaunitis, and Basoropeda ; 
from the Iberians, the country at the foot of the Pary- 
adres, the Chorzene, and Gogarene, which is on the other 
side of the Cyrus ; from the Chalybes, and the Mosynceci, 
Carenitis and Xerxene, which border upon the Lesser Arme- 
nia, or are even parts of it ; from the Cataones, Acilisene,^ 
and the country about the Anti-Taurus ; from the Syrians, 
Taronitis ; ^ hence they all speak the same language. 

6. The cities of Armenia are Artaxata, called also Artax- 

* Kars is the capital of this country. 

2 (TKui\t]KaQ and OpliraG, species of worms. See Smith, art. Chorzene. 

* Melitene. Groskurd. 

* It corresponds, Kramer observes, with Taron, a province of Armenia, 
which is called by Tacitus, Ann. xiv. 24, Taraunitium (not Tarani- 
tium) regio. 



270 STRABO. Casatjb. 529. 

iasata, built by Hannibal for the king Artaxias, and Arxata, 
both situated on the Araxes ; Arxata on the confines of 
Atropatia, and Artaxata near the Araxenian plain; it is 
well inhabited, and the seat of the kings of the country. It 
lies upon a peninsular elbow of land ; the river encircles the 
walls except at the isthmus, which is enclosed by a ditch 
and rampart. 

Not far from the city are the treasure-storehouses of Ti- 
granes and Artavasdes, the strong fortresses Babyrsa, and 
Olane. There were others also upon the Euphrates. Ador, 
(Addon ?) the governor of the fortress, occasioned the revolt 
of ArtagerjB, but the generals of Caesar retook it after a 
long siege, and destroyed the walls. 

7. There are many rivers in the country. The most cele- 
brated are the Phasis and Lycus ; they empty themselves 
into the Euxine ; (Eratosthenes instead of the Lycus men- 
tions the Thermodon, but erroneously ;) the Cyrus and the 
Araxes into the Caspian, and the Euphrates and the Tigris 
into the Persian Gulf. 

8. There are also large lakes in Armenia ; one the Man- 
tiane,^ which word translated signifies Cyane, or Blue, the 
largest salt-water lake, it is said, after the Palus Ma^otis, ex- 
tending as far as (Media-) Atropatia. It has salt pans for 
the concretion of salt. 

The next is Arsene,^ which is also called Thopitis. Its 
waters contain nitre, and are used for cleaning and fulling 
clothes. It is unfit by these qualities for drinking. The 
Tigris passes through this lake^ after issuing from the moun- 
tainous country near the Niphates, and by its rapidity keeps 
its stream unmixed with the water of the lake, whence it has 
its name, for the Medes call an arrow, Tigris. This river 
contains fish of various kinds, but the lake one kind only. 

^ We shoTild read probably Matiane. The meaning of the word pro- 
posed by Strabo may easily be proved to be incorrect, by reference to 
the Armenian language, in which no such word is to be found bearing 
this sense. As Kapoit in the Armenian tongue signifies " blue," this ex- 
planation of Strabo's appears to refer to the lake Spauta or Kapauta, 
above, c. xiii. § 2. Kramer. 

2 The lake Arsissa, Thospitis or Van. 

' This is an error ; one of the branches of the Tigris rises among the 
mountains on the S. W. of the lake Van, and which form part of the 
range of Nepat-Leam or Niphates. 



B. XI. c. XIV. § 9—11. ARMENIA. 271 

At the extremity of the lake the river falls into a deep cavity 
in the earth. After pursuing a long course under-ground, it 
re-appears in the Chalonitis ; thence it goes to Opis, and to 
the wall of Semiramis, as it is called, leaving the Gordysei ^ 
and the whole of Mesopotamia on the right hand. The Eu- 
phrates, on the contrary, has the same country on the left. 
Having approached one another, and formed Mesopotamia, one 
traverses Seleucia in its course to the Persian Gulf, the other 
Babylon, as I have said in replying to Eratosthenes and 
Hipparchus. 

9. There are mines of gold in the Hyspiratis,^ near Ca- 
balla. Alexander sent Menon to the mines with a body of 
soldiers, but he was strangled^ by the inhabitants of the coun- 
try. There are other mines, and also a mine of Sandyx as 
it is called, to which is given the name of Armenian colour, 
it resembles the Calche.'^ 

This country is so well adapted, being nothing inferior in this 
respect to Media, for breeding horses, that the race of Nestean 
horses, which the kings of Persia used, is found here also ; 
the satrap of Armenia used to send annually to the king 
of Persia 20,000 foals at the time of the festival of the Mi- 
thracina. Artavasdes, when he accompanied Antony in his 
invasion of Media, exhibited, besides other bodies of cavalry, 
6000 horse covered with complete armour drawn up in array. 

Not only do the Medes and Armenians, but the Albanians 
also, admire this kind of cavalry, for the latter use horses 
covered with armour. 

10. Of the riches and power of this country, this is no 
slight proof, that when Pompey imposed upon Tigranes, the 
father of Artavasdes, the payment of 6000 talents of silver, he 
immediately distributed the money among the Roman army, 
to each soldier 50 drachmae, 1000 to a centurion, and a talent 
to a Hipparch and a Chiliarch. 

11. Theophanes represents this as the size of the country ; 
its breadth to be 100 schoeni, and its length double this num- 
ber, reckoning the schoenus at 40 stadia ; but this comput- 
ation exceeds the truth. It is nearer the truth to take the 

' The Kurds. 2 Groskurd proposes Syspiritis. 

2 cnrrjyxGf}- Meinehe. 

* It is doubtful whether this colour was red, blue, or purple. 



272 STRABO Casaub. 630. 

length as he has given it, and the breadth at one half, or a 
little more. 

Such then is the nature of the country of Armenia, and its 
power. 

12. There exists an ancient account of the origin of this 
nation to the following effect. Armenus of Armenium, a Thes- 
salian city, which lies between Pherse and Larisa on the lake 
Boebe, accompanied Jason, as we have already said, in his ex- 
pedition into Armenia, and from Armenus the country had 
its name, according to Cyrsilus the Pharsalian and Medius 
the Larisagan, persons who had accompanied the army of 
Alexander. Some of the followers of Armenus settled in 
Acilisene, which was formerly subject to the Sopheni ; others 
in the Sy spirit! s, and spread as far as Calachene and Adia- 
bene, beyond the borders of Armenia. 

The dress of the Armenian people is said to be of Thessa- 
lian origin ; such are the long tunics, which in tragedies are call- 
ed Thessalian ; they are fastened about the body with a girdle, 
and with a clasp on the shoulder. The tragedians, for they 
required some additional decoration of this kind, imitate the 
Thessalians in their attire. The Thessalians in particular, 
from wearing a long dress, (probably because they inhabit the 
most northerly and the coldest country in all Greece,) afford- 
ed the most appropriate subject of imitation to actors for their 
theatrical representations. The passion for riding and the 
care of horses characterize the Thessalians, and are common 
to Armenians and Medes. 

The Jasonia are evidence of the expedition of Jason : some 
of these memorials the sovereigns of the country restored, as 
Parmenio restored the temple of Jason at Abdera. 

1 3. It is supposed that Armenus and his companions called 
the Araxes by this name on account of its resemblance to 
the Peneius, for the Peneius had the name of Araxes from 
bursting through Tempe, and rending (aTrapo^at) Ossa from 
Olympus. The Araxes also in Armenia, descending from the 
mountains, is said to have spread itself in ancient times, and 
to have overflowed the plains, like a sea, having no outlet ; 
that Jason, in imitation of what is to be seen at Tempe, made 
the opening through which the water at present precipitates 
itself into the Caspian Sea; that upon this the Araxenian 



B. XI. c. XIV. § 14, 15. ARMENIA. 273 

plain, through which the river flows to the cataract, became 
uncovered. This story which is told of the river Araxes 
contains some probability ; that of Herodotus ^ none whatever. 
For he says that, after flowing out of the country of the Ma- 
tiani, it is divided into forty rivers, and separates the Scythians 
from the Bactrians. Callisthenes has followed Herodotus. 

14. Some tribes of jEnianes are mentioned, some of whom 
settled in Vitia, others above the Armenians beyond the Abus 
and the Nibarus. These latter are branches of Taurus ; the 
Abus is near the road which leads to Ecbatana by the temple 
of Baris (Zaris ?). 

Some tribes of Thracians, surnamed Saraparae, or decapi- 
tators, are said to live above Armenia, near the Gouranii and 
Medes. They are a savage people, intractable mountaineers, 
and scalp and decapitate strangers ; for such is the meaning 
of the term Saraparae. 

I have spoken of Medeia in the account of Media, and it is 
conjectured from all the circumstances that the Medes and 
Armenians are allied in some way to the Thessalians, de- 
scended from Jason and Medeia. 

15. This is the ancient account, but the more recent, and 
extending from the time of the Persians to our own age, may 
be given summarily, and in part only (as follows) ; Persians 
and Macedonians gained possession of Armenia, next those 
who were masters of Syria and Media. The last was Orontes, 
a descendant of Hydarnes, one of the seven Persians : it was 
then divided into two portions by Artaxias and Zariadris, 
generals of Antiochus the Great, who made war against the 
Romans. These were governors by permission of the king, 
but upon his overthrow they attached themselves to the Ro- 
mans, were declared independent, and had the title of kings. 
Tigranes was a descendant of Artaxias, and had Armenia, 
properly so called. This country was contiguous to Media, 
to the Albani, and to the Iberes, and extended as far as Col- 
chis, and Cappadocia upon the Euxine. 

Artanes the Sophenian was the descendant of Zaria- 
dris, and had the southern parts of Armenia, which verge 
rather to the west. He was defeated by Tigranes, who be- 
came master of the whole country. He had experienced 
many vicissitudes of fortune. At first he had served as a 
» Herod, i. 202. 

VOL. II. T 



274 STRABO. Casaub. 532. 

hostage among the Parthians ; then by their means he return- 
ed to his country, in compensation for which service they ob- 
tained seventy valleys in Armenia. When he acquired power, 
he recovered these valleys, and devastated the country of the 
Parthians, the territory about Ninus, and that about Arbela.* 
He subjected to his authority the Atropatenians, and the 
Gordyaeans ; by force of arms he obtained possession also of 
the rest of Mesopotamia, and, after crossing the Euphrates, of 
Syria and Phoenicia. Having attained this height of pros- 
perity, he even founded near Iberia,^ between this country 
and the Zeugma on the Euphrates, a city, which he named 
Tigranocerta, and collected inhabitants out of twelve Grecian 
cities, which he had depopulated. But Lucullus, who had 
commanded in the war against Mithridates, surprised him, 
thus engaged, and dismissed the inhabitants to their respect- 
ive homes. The buildings which were half finished he de- 
molished, and left a small village remaining. He drove Ti- 
granes both out of Syria and Phoenicia. 

Artavasdes, his successor, prospered as long as he con- 
tinued a friend of the Romans. But having betrayed An- 
tony to the Parthians in the war with that people, he suffered 
punishment for his treachery. He was carried in chains to 
Alexandria, by order of Antony, led in procession through 
the city, and kept in prison for a time. On the breaking 
out of the Actiac war he was then put to death. Many 
kings reigned after Artavasdes, who were dependent upon 
Caesar and the Romans. ■ The country is still governed in 
the same manner. 

16. Both the Modes and Armenians have adopted all the 
sacred rites of the Persians, but the Armenians pay particu- 
lar reverence to Anai'tis, and have built temples to her hon- 
our in several places, especially in Acilisene. They dedicate 
there to her service male and female slaves ; in this there 
is nothing remarkable, but it is surprising that persons of the 
highest rank in the nation consecrate their virgin daughters 
to the goddess. It is customary for these women, after being 

' Arbil. 

' That this is an error is manifest. Falconer proposes Armenia; Gros- 
kurd, Assyria ; but what name is to be supplied is altogether uncertain. 
The name of the city is also wanting, according to Kramer, who proposes 
Nisibis. 



B. XI. c. XIV. § 16. ARMENIA. 275 

prostituted a long period at the temple of AnaTtis, to be dis- 
posed of in marriage, no one disdaining a connexion with 
such persons. Herodotus mentions something similar re- 
specting the Lydian women, all of whom prostitute them- 
selves. But they treat their paramours with much kindness, 
they entertain them hospitably, and frequently make a return 
of more presents than they receive, being amply supplied 
with means derived from their wealthy connexions. They 
do not admit into their dwellings accidental strangers, but 
prefer those of a rank equal to their own. 



T 2 



BOOK XII. 
CAPPADOCIA. 



The Twelfth Book contains the remainder of Pontus, viz. Cappadocia, Gala 
tia, Bithynia, Mysia, Phrygia, and Maeonia : the cities, Sinope in Pontus, 
Heracleia, and Amaseia, and likewise Isauria, Lycia, Pamphylia, and 
Cilicia, with the islands lying along the coast ; the mountains and rivers. 

CHAPTER I. 

1. * Cappadocia consists of mauy parts, and has expe- 
rienced frequent changes. 

The nations speaking the same language are chiefly those 
who are bounded on the south by the Cilician Taurus,^ as it 
is called ; on the east by Armenia, Colchis, and by the inter- 
vening nations who speak different languages ; on the north 
by the Euxine, as far as the mouth of the Halys ;^ on the west 
by the Paphlagonians, and by the Galatians, who migrated 
into Phrygia, and spread themselves as far as Lycaonia, and 
the Cilicians, who occupy Cilicia Tracheia (Cilicia the moun- 
tainous).* 

2. Among the nations that speak the same language, the 
ancients placed the Cataonians by themselves, contra-dis- 
tinguishing them from the Cappadocians, whom they con- 
sidered as a different people. In the enumeration of the nations 
they placed Cataonia after Cappadocia, then the Euphrates, 
and the nations on the other side of that river, so as to 
include even Melitene in Cataonia, although Melitene lies 
between Cataonia and the Euphrates, approaches close to 
Commagene, and constitutes a tenth portion of Cappadocia, 

' The beginning is wanting, according to the opinion of critics, Xy- 
lander, Casaubon, and others. 

2 The range of mountains to the S. of Caramania. 

3 Kizil-Irmak. " Itsch-Ili. 



B. XII. c. I. § 3, 4. CAPPADOCIA. 277 

according to the division of the country into ten provinces. 
For the kings in our times who preceded Archelaus^ usually 
divided the kingdom of Cappadocia in this manner. 

Cataonia is a tenth portion of Cappadocia. In our time 
each province had its own governor, and since no difference 
appears in the language of the Cataonians compared with 
that of the other Cappadocians, nor any difference in their 
customs, it is surprising how entirely the characteristic marks 
of a foreign nation have disappeared, yet they were distinct 
nations ; Ariarathes, the first who bore the title of king of 
the Cappadocians, annexed the Cataonians to Cappadocia. 

3. This country composes the isthmus, as it were, of a 
large peninsula formed by two seas ; by the bay of Issus, ex- 
tending to Cilicia Tracheia, and by the Euxine lying between 
Sinope and the coast of the Tibareni. 

The isthmus cuts off what we call the peninsula ; the whole 
tract lying to the west of the Cappadocians, to which Hero- 
dotus ^ gives the name of the country within the Halys. This 
is the country the whole of which was the kingdom of Croesus. 
Herodotus calls him king of the nations on this side the river 
Halys. But writers of the present time give the name of 
Asia, which is the appellation of the whole continent, to the 
country within the Taurus. 

This Asia comprises, first, the nations on the east, Paphla- 
gonians, Phrygians, and Lycaonians ; then Bithynians, My- 
sians, and the Epictetus ; besides these, Troas, and Helles- 
pontia ; next to these, and situated on the sea, are the jEolians 
and lonians, who are Greeks ; the inhabitants of the remain- 
ing portions are Carians and Lycians, and in the inland parts 
are Lydians. 

We shall speak hereafter of the other nations. 

4. The Macedonians obtained possession of Cappadocia 
after it had been divided by the Persians into two satrapies, 
and permitted, partly with and partly without the consent of 
the people, the satrapies to be altered to two kingdoms, one 
of which they called Cappadocia Proper, and Cappadocia 

' Archelaus received from Augustus (b. c. 20) some parts of Cilicia 
on the coast and the Lesser Armenia. In a. d. 15 Tiberius treacherously- 
invited him to Rome, and kept him there. He died, probably about 
A. D. 17, and his kingdom was made a Roman province. 

2 Herod, i. 6, 28. 



278 STRABO. Casaub. 534. 

near the Taurus, or Cappadocia the Great ; the other they 
called Pontus, but according to other writers, Cappadocia on 
Pontus. 

We are ignorant at present how Cappadocia the Great 
was at first distributed ; upon the death of Archelaus the 
king, Caesar and the senate decreed that it should be a Ro- 
man province. But when the country was divided in the 
time of Archelaus and of preceding kings into ten pro- 
vinces, they reckoned five near the Taurus, Melitene, Cataonia, 
Cilicia, Tyanltis, and Garsauritis ; the remaining five were 
Laviansene, Sargarausene, Saravene, Chamanene, Morimene. 
The Romans afterwards assigned to the predecessors of Ar- 
chelaus an eleventh province formed out of Cilicia, consist- 
ing of the country about Castabala and Cybistra,' extending 
to Derbe, belonging to Antipater, the robber. Cilicia Tra- 
chea about Elaeussa was assigned to Archelaus, and all the 
country which served as the haunts of pirates. 



CHAPTER 11. 



1. Melitene resembles Commagene, for the whole of it is 
planted with fruit-trees, and is the only part of all Cappadocia 
which is planted in this manner. It produces oil, and the 
wine Monarites, which vies vsdth the wines of Greece. It is 
situated opposite to Sophene, having the river Euphrates 
flowing between it and Commagene, which borders upon it. 
In the country on the other side of the river is Tomisa, a 
considerable fortress of the Cappadocians. It was sold to the 
prince of Sophene for a hundred talents. Lucullus presented 
it afterwards as a reward of valour to the Cappadocian prince 
for his services in the war against Mithridates. 

2. Cataonia is a plain, wide and hollow,^ and produces 
everything except evergreen trees. It is surrounded by 
mountains, and among others by the Amanus on the side to- 
wards the south, a mass separated from the Cilician Taurus, 
and also by the Anti-Taurus,^ a mass rent off in a contrary 

* Eregli near the lake Al-gol. 

* That is, surrounded by mountains, as below. 

' The range on the west of the river Sarus, Seichun, now bearing vari- 
ous names. 



B. XII. c. II. § 3, 4. CATAONIA. 279 

direction. The Amanus extends from Cataonia to Cilicia, and 
the Syrian sea towards the west and south. In this intervening 
space it comprises the whole of the gulf of Issus, and the 
plains of the Cilicians which lie towards the Taurus. But 
the Anti-Taurus inclines to the north, and a little also to the 
east, and then terminates in the interior of the country. 

3. In the Anti-Taurus are deep and narrow valleys, in 
which is situated Comana,^ and the temple of Enyus (Bellona), 
which they call Ma. It is a considerable city. It contains 
a very great multitude of persons who at times are actuated 
by divine impulse, and of servants of the temple. It is in- 
habited by Cataonians, who are chiefly under the command of 
the priest, but in other respects subject to the king. The 
former presides over the temple, and has authority over the 
servants belonging to it, who, at the time that I was there, 
exceeded in number six thousand persons, including men and 
women. A large tract of land adjoins the temple, the revenue 
of which the priest enjoys. He is second in rank in Cappa- 
docia after the king, and, in general, the priests are descended 
from the same family as the kings. Orestes, when he came 
hither with his sister Iphigenia from Tauric Scythia,^ is 
thought to have introduced the sacred rites performed in 
honour of Diana Tauropolus, and to have deposited here the 
tresses (Coman, Ko^rjv) of mourning, from which the city had 
the name of Comana. 

The river Sarus flows through this city, and passes out 
through the valleys of the Taurus to the plains of Cilicia, and 
to the sea lying below them. 

4. The Pyramus,^ which has its source in the middle of the 
plain, is navigable throughout Cataonia. There is a large sub- 
terraneous channel, through which the water flows underground 
to a great distance, and then may be seen springing up again to 
the surface. If an arrow is let down into the pit from above, the 
resistance of the water is so great that it is scarcely immersed. 
Although it pursues its course with great '^ depth and breadth, 
it undergoes an extraordinary contraction of its size by the 
time it has reached the Taurus. There is also an extra- 
ordinary fissure in the mountain, through which the stream is 
carried. For, as in rocks which have burst and split in two 

^ Supposed to be Al-Bostan. ^ The Crimea. 

• Dschehan-Tschai. ♦ The text is here corrupt. 



280 STRABO. Casaub. 636. 

parts, the projections in one correspond so exactly with the 
hollows in the other that they might even be fitted together, 
so here I have seen the rocks at the distance of two or three 
plethra, overhanging the river on each side, and nearly reach- 
ing to the summit of the mountain, with hollows on one side 
answering to projections on the other. The bed between (the 
mountains) is entirely rock ; it has a deep and very narrow 
fissure through the middle, so that a dog and a hare might 
leap across it. This is the channel of the river ; it is full to 
the margin, and in breadth resembles a canal. ^ But on ac- 
count of the winding of its course, the great contraction of 
the stream, and the depth of the ravine, a noise, like that of 
thunder, strikes at a distance on the ears of those who ap- 
proach it. In passing out through the mountains, it brings 
down from Cataonia, and from the Cilician plains, so great a 
quantity of alluvial soil to the sea, that an oracle to the follow- 
ing effect is reported to have been uttered respecting it : 

" The time will come, when Pyramus, with its deep whirlpools, by ad- 
vancing on the sea-shore, will reach the sacred Cyprus." 

Something similar to this takes place in Egypt. The Nile 
is continually converting the sea into continent by an accu- 
mulation of earth ; accordingly Herodotus calls Egypt a gift 
of the river, and Homer says, that the Pharos was formerly 
out at sea, not as it is at present connected with the main- 
land of Egypt. 

5. [The third 2 in rank is the Dacian priesthood of Jupiter, 
inferior to this, but still of importance.] There is at this 
place a body of salt water, having the circumference of a con- 
siderable lake. It is shut in by lofty and perpendicular hills, 
so that the descent is by steps. The water it is said does not 
increase in quantity, nor has it anywhere an apparent outlet. 

6. Neither the plain of the Cataonians nor Melitene have 
any city, but strongholds upon the mountains, as Azamora, and 
Dastarcum, round which runs the river Carmalas.^- There 
is also the temple of the Cataonian Apollo, which is vener- 

» The reading is doubtful. 

' The passage is corrupt. Groskurd proposes Asbamean in place of 
Dacian, mention being made of a temple of Asbamean Jove in Amm. 
Marcell. xxiii. 6. Kramer also suggests the transposition of this sentence 
to the end of § 6. 

^ Probably the Kermel-su, a branch of the Pyramus. 



B. xii. c. II. § 7. CAPPADOCIA. 281 

ated throughout the whole of Cappadocia, and which the 
Cappadocians have taken as a model of their own temples. 
Nor have the other provinces, except two, any cities. Of the 
rest, Sargarausene has a small town Herpa, and a river Car- 
malas, which also discharges itself into the Cilician sea.^ In 
the other provinces is Argos, a lofty fortress near the Taurus, 
and Nora, now called Neroassus, in which Eumenes sustained 
a long siege. In our time it was a treasure-hold of Sisinus, 
who attempted to take possession of the kingdom of Cappa- 
docia. To him belonged Cadena, a royal seat, built after the 
form of a city. Situated upon the borders of Lycaonia is 
Garsauira, a village town, said to have been formerly the 
capital of the country. 

In Morimene, among the Venasii, is a temple of Jupiter, 
with buildings capable of receiving nearly three thousand ser- 
vants of the temple. It has a tract of sacred land attached to 
it, very fertile, and affording to the priest a yearly revenue of 
fifteen talents. The priest is appointed for life like the priest 
at Comana, and is next to him in rank. 

7. Two provinces only have cities. In the Tyanitis is 
Tyana,^ lying at the foot of the Taurus at the Cilician Gates,' 
where are the easiest and the most frequented passes into 
Cilicia and Syria. It is called, "Eusebeia at the Taurus." 
Tyanitis is fertile, and the greatest part of it consists of 
plains. Tyana is built upon the mound of Semiramis, which 
is fortified with good walls. At a little distance from this 
city are Castabala and Cybistra, towns which approach still 
nearer to the mountain. At Castabala is a temple of Diana 
Perasia, where, it is said, the priestesses walk with naked 
feet unhurt upon burning coals. To this place some persons 
apply the story respecting Orestes and Diana Tauropolus, and 
say that the goddess was called Perasia, because she was con- 
veyed from beyond (Tripadev) sea. 

In Tyanitis, one of the ten provinces above mentioned, is 
the city Tyana. But with these I do not reckon the cities 
that were afterwards added, Castabala, and Cybistra, and 
those in Cilicia Tracheia, to which belongs Elaeussa, a small 

1 There is some confusion in this statement. 

' Kara-Hissar. 

^ Between the mountains Bulghar-Dagh and Allah-Dagh. 



282 STRABO. Casaub. 538. 

fertile island, which Archelaus furnished with excellent 
buildings, where he passed the greater part of his time. 

In the Cilician province, as it is called, is Mazaca,^ the 
capital of the nation. It is also called " Eusebeia," with the 
addition " at the Argasus," for it is situated at the foot of the 
Argaeus,'-^ the highest mountain in that district ; its summit is 
always covered with snow. Persons who ascend it (but 
they are not many) say that both the Euxine and the sea of 
Issus may be seen from thence in clear weather. 

Mazaca is not adapted in other respects by nature for the 
settlement of a city, for it is without water, and unfortified. 
Through the neglect of the governors, it is without walls, per- 
haps intentionally, lest, trusting to the wall as to a fortification, 
the inhabitants of a plain, which has hills situated above it, and 
not exposed to the attacks of missile weapons, should addict 
themselves to robbery. The country about, although it con- 
sists of plains, is entirely barren and uncultivated, for the soil 
is sandy, and rocky underneath. At a little distance further 
there are burning plains, and pits full of fire to an extent of 
many stadia, so that the necessaries of life are brought from a 
distance. What seems to be a peculiar advantage (abundance 
of wood) is a source of danger. For though nearly the whole 
of Cappadocia is without timber, the Argaeus is surrounded 
by a forest, so that wood may be procured near at hand, yet 
even the region lying below the forest contains fire in many 
parts, and springs of cold water ; but as neither the fire nor 
the water break out upon the surface, the greatest part of the 
country is covered with herbage. In some parts the bottom 
is marshy, and flames burst out from the ground by night. 
Those acquainted with the country collect wood with caution ; 
but there is danger to others, and particularly to cattle, which 
fall into these hidden pits of fire. 

8. In the plain in front of the city, and about 40 stadia 
from it, is a river of the name of Melas,^ whose source is in 
ground lower than the level of the city. It is useless to the 

* Kaisarieh. 

^ Edsehise-Dagh, the highest peak, has been estimated at 13,000 feet 
above the sea. 

' Tlie Kara-su, the black river, a branch of the Kizil-Irmak. The 
modern name appears common to many rivers. 



B. XII. c. 11. § 9. CAPPADOCIA. 283 

inhabitants, because it does not flow from an elevated situation. 
It spreads abroad in marshes and lakes, and in the summer- 
time corrupts the air round the city. A valuable stone 
quarry is rendered almost useless by it. For there are ex- 
tensive beds of stone, from which the Mazaceni obtain an 
abundant supply of materials for building, but the slabs, be- 
ing covered with water, are not easily detached by the work- 
men. These are the marshes which in every part are subject 
to take fire. 

Ariarathes the king filled in some narrow channels by 
which the Melas entered the Halys, and converted the neigh- 
bouring plain into a wide lake. There he selected some small 
islands like the Cyclades, where he passed his time in boyish 
and frivolous diversions. The barrier, however, was broken 
down all at once, and the waters again flowed abroad and 
swelled the Halys, which swept away a large part of the Cap- 
padocian territory, and destroyed many buildings and planta- 
tions ; it also damaged a considerable part of the country of 
the Galatians, who occupy Phrygia. In compensation for 
this injury he paid a fine of three hundred talents to the in- 
habitants, who had referred the matter to the decision of the 
Romans. The same was the case at Herpa ; for he there 
obstructed the stream of the Carmalas, and, on the bursting 
of the dyke, the water damaged some of the places in the 
Cilician territories about Mallus ; he was obliged to make 
compensation to those who had sustained injury. 

9. Although the territory of the Mazaceni is destitute in 
many respects of natural advantages, it seems to have been 
preferred by the kings as a place of residence, because it was 
nearest the centre of those districts which supplied timber, 
stone for building, and fodder, of which a very large quantity 
was required for the subsistence of their cattle. Their city 
was almost a camp. The security of their persons and trea- 
sure^ depended upon the protection afforded by numerous 
fortresses, some of which belonged to the king, others to their 
friends. 

Mazaca is distant from Pontus ^ about 800 stadia to the 
south, and from the Euphrates a little less than double that 
distance ; from the Cilician Gates and the camp of Cyrus, a 

' XptjfioLTbJv, the reading proposed by Kramer. 
2 i. e. the kingdom of Pontus. 



284 STRABO.- ' Casaub. 539. 

journey of six days by way of Tyana,^ which is situated about 
the middle of the route, and is distant from Cybistra 300 
stadia. The Mazaceni adopt the laws of Charondas, and elect 
a Nomodist, (or Chanter of the Laws,) who, like the Juris- 
consults of the Romans, is the interpreter of their laws. Ti- 
granes the Armenian, when he overran Cappadocia, treated 
them with great severity. He forced them to abandon their 
settlements, and go into Mesopotamia ; they peopled Tigrano- 
certa, chiefly by their numbers. Afterwards, upon the cap- 
ture of Tigranocerta, those who were able returned to their 
own country. 

10. The breadth of the country from Pontus to the Taurus is 
about 1800 stadia ; the length from Lycaonia and Phrygia, as 
far as the Euphrates to the east, and Armenia, is about 3000 
stadia. The soil is fertile, and abounds with fruits of the 
earth, particularly corn, and with cattle of all kinds. Although 
it lies more to the south than Pontus, it is colder. Bagadania, 
although a plain country, and situated more towards the south 
than any district in Cappadocia, (for it lies at the foot of the 
Taurus,) produces scarcely any fruit-bearing trees. It affords 
pasture for wild asses, as does a large portion of the other 
parts of the country, particularly that about Garsauira, Ly- 
caonia, and Morimene. 

In Cappadocia is found the red earth called the Sinopic, 
which is better than that of any other country. The Spanish 
only can rival it. It had the name of Sinopic, because the 
merchants used to bring it down from Sinope, before the traffic 
of the Ephesians extended as far as the people of Cappadocia. 
It is said that even plates of crystal and of the onyx stone were 
discovered by the miners of Archelaus near the country of the 
Galatians. There was a place where was found a white stone 
of the colour of ivory in pieces of the size of small whetstones, 
from which were made handles for small swords. Another 
place produced large masses of transparent stone for windows, 
which were exported. 

The boundary of Pontus and Cappadocia is a mountainous 
range parallel to the Taurus, commencing from the western 
extremities of Chammanene, (where stands Dasmenda, a fortress 
built upon a precipice,) and extending to the eastern parts of 

I Kara-Hissar. 



B. xir. c. HI. § 1. PONTUS. 285 

Laviansene. Both Chammanene and Laviansene are pro- 
vinces of Cappadocia. 

11. When the Romans, after the defeat of Antiochus, first 
governed Asia, they made treaties of friendship and alliance 
both with the nations and with the kings. This honour was 
conferred upon the other kings separately and independently, 
but upon the king of Cappadocia in common with the nation. 
On the extinction of the royal race, the Romans admitted the 
independence of the Cappadocians according to the treaty of 
friendship and alliance which they had made with the nation. 
The deputies excused themselves from accepting the liberty 
which was ofiered to them, declaring that they were unable to 
bear it, and requested that a king might be appointed. The 
Romans were surprised that any people should be unwilling 
to enjoy liberty, but permitted ^ them to elect by suffrage any 
one they pleased from among themselves. They elected 
Ariobarzanes. The race became extinct in the third gener- 
ation. Archelaus, who was not connected with the nation, 
was appointed king by Antony. 

So much respecting the Greater Cappadocia. 

With regard to Cilicia Tracheia, which was annexed to 
the Greater Cappadocia, it will be better to describe it when 
we give an account of the whole of Cilicia. 



CHAPTER III. 



1. MiTHRiDATES Eupator was appointed King of Pontus. 
His kingdom consisted of the country bounded by the Halys,^ 
extending to the Tibareni,^ to Armenia, to the territory 
within the Halys, extending as far as Amastris,'* and to some 
parts of Paphlagonia. He annexed to (the kingdom of) Pontus 
the sea-coast towards the west as far as Heracleia,^ the birth- 
place of Heracleides the Platonic philosopher, and towards 

' Du Theil quotes Justin, 38, c, 2, where it is stated that Ariobarzanes 
was appointed king by the Romans. Probably the election was con- 
firmed by the Senate. 

2 Kizii-Irmak. 

' Who lived on the west of the river Sidenus (Siddin). 

* Amassera. ^ Erekli, or Benderegli. 



286 STRABO. Casaub. 541. 

the east, the country extending to Colchis, and the Lesser 
Armenia. Pompey, after the overthrow of Mithridates, found 
the kingdom comprised within these boundaries. He dis- 
tributed the country towards Armenia and towards Colchis 
among the princes who had assisted him in the war ; the re- 
mainder he divided into eleven governments, and annexed 
them to Bithynia, so that out of both there was formed one 
province. Some people in the inland parts he subjected to the 
kings descended from Pylaemenes, in the same manner as he 
delivered over the Galatians to be governed by tetrarchs of 
that nation. 

In later times the Roman emperors made different divisions 
of tlje same country, appointing kings and rulers, making 
some cities free, and subjecting others to the authority of rulers, 
others again were left under the dominion of the Roman people. 

As we- proceed in our description according to the present 
state of things, we shall touch slightly on their former con- 
dition, whenever it may be useful. 

I shall begin from Heracleia,^ which is the most westerly 
of these places. 

2. In sailing out of the Propontiji into the Euxine Sea, on 
the left hand are the parts adjoining to Byzantium, (Con- 
stantinople,) and these belong to the Thracians. The parts 
on the left of the Pontus are called Aristera (or left) of Pon- 
tus ; the parts on the right are contiguous to Chalcedon. Of 
these the first tract of country belongs to the Biihynians, the 
next to the Mariandyni, or, as some say, to the Caucones ; next 
is that of the Paphlagonians, extending to the Halys, then that 
of the Cappadocians near the Pontus, and then a district 
reaching to Colchis.^ All this country has the name of the 
Dexia (or right) of Pontus. This whole coast, from Col- 
chis to Heracleia, was subject to Mithridates Eupator. But 
the parts on the other side to the mouth of the Euxine and 
Chalcedon, remained under the government of the king of 
Bithynia. After the overthrow of the kings the Romans pre- 
served the same boundaries of the kingdoms ; Heracleia was 

' Erekli. 

* The Bithynians, or rather Thyni, occupied the sea-coast from the 
Bosphorus to tlie river Sagaris (Sakaria). The Mariandyni extended to 
Heracleia (Erekli); and the Caucones to the east as far as the river 
Parthenius (Tschati-su) . 



B. XII. c. III. § 3—5. PONTUS. 287 

annexed to Pontus, and the country beyond assigned to the 
Bithynians. 

3. It is generally acknowledged by writers, that the Bithy- 
nians, who were formerly Mysians, received this name from 
Bithynians and Thyni, Thracian people, who came and settled 
among them. They advance as a proof of their statement, 
first as regards the Bithynians, that there still exists in Thrace 
a people called Bithynians, and then, as regards the Thyni, 
that the sea-shore, near Apollonia ^ and Salmydessus,^ is called 
Thynias. The Bebryces, who preceded them as settlers in 
Mysia, were, as I conjecture, Thracians. We have said^ that 
the Mysians themselves were a colony of those Thracians who 
are now called Msesi. 

Such is the account given of these people. 

4. There is not, however, the same agreement among writers 
with regard to the Mariandyni, and the Caucones. For they 
say that Heracleia is situated among the Mariandyni, and was 
founded by Milesians."* But who they are, or whence they 
came, nothing is said. There is no difference in language, 
nor any other apparent national distinction between them and 
the Bithynians, whom they resemble in all respects. It is 
probable therefore the Mariandyni were a Thracian tribe. 

Theopompus says that Mariandynus, who governed a part 
of Paphlagonia, which was subject to many masters, invaded 
and obtained possession of the country of the Bebryces, and 
that he gave his own name to the territory which he had be- 
fore occupied. It is also said that the Milesians who first 
founded Heracleia, compelled the Mariandyni, the former pos- 
sessors of the place, to serve as Helots, and even sold them, 
but not beyond the boundaries of their country. For they 
were sold on the same conditions as the class of persons called 
Mnoans, who were slaves to the Cretans, and the Penestae,^ 
who were slaves of the Thessalians. 

5. The Caucones, who, according to history, inhabited the 
line of sea-coast which extends from the Mariandyni as far as 
the river Parthenius, and to whom belonged the city Tieium,^ 

* Sizeboli, south of the Gulf of Butgas. * Midjeh. 
^ B. vii. c. iii. § 2. 

* Kramer is of opinion that Strabo is mistaken in this account of the 
origin of Heracleia. 

* Athenaeus, b. vi. c. 85, vol. i. p. 414, Bohn's Class. Library. 6 Tilijos, 



288 STRABO. Casaub. 542. 

are said bj some writers to be Scythians, by others a tribe of 
Macedonians, and by others a tribe of Pelasgi. We have 
already spoken of these people elsewhere.^ Callisthenes in 
his comment upon the enumeration of the ships inserts after 
this verse, 

"Cromna, iEgialus, and the lofty Erythini,"* 
these lines, 

" The brave son of Polycles led the Caucones, 
Who inhabited the well-known dwellings about the river Parthenius," 

for the territory extends from Heracleia, and the Mariandyni 
as far as the Leucosyri, whom we call Cappadocians. But 
the tribe of the Caucones about Tieium extends to the Par- 
thenius ; that of the Heneti, who occupy Cytorum,^ imme- 
diately follows the Parthenius, and even at present some 
Caucones are living about the Parthenius. 

6. Heracleia is a city with a good harbour, and of import- 
ance in other respects. It has sent out colonies, among which 
are the Cherronesus,'* and the Callatis.^ It was once inde- 
pendent, afterwards for some time it was under the power of 
tyrants ; it again recovered its freedom ; but at last, when 
subject to the Romans, it was governed by kings. It re- 
ceived a colony of Romans, which was settled in a portion of 
the city, and of its territory. A little before the battle of Ac- 
tium, Adiatorix, the son of Domnecleius the tetrarch of Gala- 
tia, who had received from Antony that portion of the city of 
which the Heracleiotae were in possession, attacked the Ro- 
mans by night, and put t^iem to death by the command, as he 
said, of Antony ; but after the victory at Actium, he was led 
in triumph, and put to death together with his son. The city 
belongs to the province of Pontus, which was annexed to 
Bithynia. 

7. Between Chalcedon and Heracleia are several rivers, as 
the Psillis,^ the Calpas, and the Sangarius, of which last the 
poet makes mention.^ It has its source at the village Sangias, 
at the distance of 150 stadia from Pessinus. It flows through 

' B. viii. c. iii. § 17. ^ ^ jj §55. ^ Kidros. 

♦ On the bay of the modem Sebastopol, b. vii. c. iv. § 2. 

* Mangalia. 

« Some of the smaller mountain streams which descend from the range 
of hills extending from Scutari to the Sangaria. According to Gossellin 
the Psillis may be the river near Tschileh, and the Calpas the river near 
Kerpeh. ' II. xvi. 719. 



B. xir. c. in. § 8. PONTUS 289 

the greater part of Phrygia Epictetus, and a part also of 
Bithynia, so that it is distant from Nicomedia a little more 
than 300 stadia, where the river Gallus unites with it. The 
latter river has its source at Modra in Phrygia on the Helles- 
pont, which is the same country as the Epictetus, and was 
formerly occupied by the Bithynians. 

The Sangarius thus increased in bulk, and navigable, al- 
though not so formerly, is the boundary of Bithynia at the part 
of the coast where it discharges itself. In front of this coast 
is the island Thynia. 

In the territory of Heracleia grows the aconite. 

This city is distant from the temple at Chalcedon about 
1500, and from the Sangarius 500, stadia. 

8. Tieium is now a small town and has nothing remarkable 
belonging to it, except that it was the birth-place of Philetaerus, 
the founder of the family of the Attalic kings. 

Next is the river Parthenius, flowing through a country 
abounding with flowers; from these it obtained its name.^ 
Its source is in Paphlagonia. Then succeeded Paphlagonia, 
and the Heneti. It is a question what Heneti the poet 
means, when he says, 

" the brave Pylaemenes led the Paphlagonians out of the country of the 
Heneti, where they have a race of wild mules ; " ^ 

for at present, they say, no Heneti are to be found in Paphla- 
gonia. Others say that it is a village on the shore distant 
ten schoeni from Amastris. But Zenodotus writes the verse 
in this manner, " From Heneta," and says that it means the 
present Amisus. According to others it was a tribe border- 
ing upon the Cappadocians, which engaged in an expedition 
with the Cimmerians, and were afterwards driven away into 
Adria. But the account most generally received is, that the 
Heneti were the most considerable tribe of the Paphlagonians ; 
that Pylaemenes was descended from it ; that a large body of 
this people accompanied him to the Trojan war ; that when 
they had lost their leader they passed over to Thrace upon 
the capture of Troy ; and in the course of their wanderings 
arrived at the present Henetic territory. 

Some writers say that both Antenor and his sons partici- 
pated in this expedition, and settled at the inner recess of the 

^ The virgin river, from its flowers and tranquil course. ^ II. ii. 851. 

VOL. II. u 



290 STRABO. * Casaub. 544. 

gulf of Adria, as we have said in the description of Italy. ^ It 
is probable that this was the cause of the extinction of the 
Heneti, and that they were no longer to be found in Paphla- 
gonia. 

9. The boundary of the Paphlagonians to the east is the 
river Halys, which flows from the south between the Syrians 
and the Paphlagonians ; and according to Herodotus,^ (who 
means Cappadocians, when he is speaking of Syrians,) dis- 
charges itself into the Euxine Sea. Even at present they are 
called Leuco- Syrians, (or White Syrians,) while those without 
the Taurus are called Syrians. In comparison with the peo- 
ple within the Taurus, the latter have a burnt complexion ; 
but the former, not having it, received the appellation of Leuco- 
Syrians (or White Syrians). Pindar says that 

" the Amazons commanded a Syrian band, armed with spears with broad 
iron heads;" 

thus designating the people that lived at Themiscyra.^ The- 
miscyra belongs to the Amiseni,^ and the district of the 
Amiseni to the Leuco- Syrians settled beyond the Halys. 

The river Halys forms the boundary of the Paphlagonians 
to the east ; Phrygians and the Galatians settled among that 
people, on the south ; and on the west Bithynians and Marian- 
dyni (for the race of the Caucones has everywhere entirely 
disappeared) ; on the north the Euxine. This country is 
divided into two parts, the inland, and the maritime, extend- 
ing from the Halys as far as Bithynia. Mithridates Eupator 
possessed the maritime part as far as Heracleia, and of the 
inland country he had the district nearest to Heracleia, some 
parts of which extended even beyond the Halys. These are 
also the limits of the Roman province of Pontus. The re- 
mainder was subject to chiefs, even after the overthrow of 
Mithridates. 

We shall afterwards speak of those Paphlagonians in the 
inland parts, who were not subject to Mithridates ; we propose 
at present to describe the country which he governed, called 
Pontus. 

10. After the river Parthenius is Amastris, bearing the 
same name as the princess by whom it was founded. It is 

' B. V. c. i. § 4. 2 Herod, i. 6. 

^ About the Thermodon, now Termeh. 
* The country about Samsoun. 



B. XII. c. III. § 11. PONTUS. SINOPE. 291 

situated upon a peninsula, with harbours on each side of the 
isthmus. Amastris was the wife of Dionysius, the tyrant of 
Heracleia, and daughter of Oxyathres, the brother of the 
Darius who fought against Alexander. She formed the set- 
tlement out of four cities, Sesamus, Cytorum, Cromna, (men- 
tioned by Homer in his recital of the Paphlagonian forces/) 
and Tieium, which city however soon separated from the 
others, but the rest continued united. Of these, Sesamus is 
called the citadel of Amastris. Cytorum was formerly a mart 
of the people of Sinope. It had its name from Cytorus, the 
son of Phrixus, according to Ephorus. Box-wood of the best 
quality grows in great abundance in the territory of Amastris, 
and particularly about Cytorum. 

^gialus is a line of sea-coast, in length more than 100 stadia. 
On it is a village of the same name,^ which the poet mentions 
in these lines, 

" Cromna, and ^gialus, and the lofty Erythini ;"^ 

but some authors write, 

" Cromna and Cobialus." 

The Erythini are said to be the present Erythrini, and to have 
their name from their (red) colour. They are two rocks.* 

Next to ^gialus is Carambis, a large promontory stretching 
towards the north, and the Scythian Chersonesus. We have 
frequently mentioned this promontory, and the Criu-metopon 
opposite it, which divides the Euxine into two seas.^ 

Next to Carambis is Cinolis,^ and Anti-Cinolis, and Aboni- 
teichos,' a small city, and Armene,^ which gave rise to the 
common proverb ; 

" He who had nothing to do built a wall about Armene." 
It is a village of the Sinopenses, with a harbour. 

11. Next is Sinope itself, distant from Armene 50 stadia, 
the most considerable of all the cities in that quarter. It was 
founded by Milesians, and when the inhabitants had estab- 
lished a naval force they commanded the sea within the Cya- 

' II. u. 853. ' Kara-Aghatsch. » II. i. 855. 

* Between C. Tchakras and Delike-Tschili. 

' B. vii. c. iv. § 3. « Kinoli. 

' Ineboli, near the mouth of the Daurikan-Irmak. 

* Ak-Liman. 

u 2 



292 STRABO. Casaub. 54o. 

nean rocks, and were allies of the Greeks in many naval battles 
beyond these limits. Although this city was independent for 
a long period, it did not preserve its liberty to the last^ but 
was taken by siege, and became subject first to Pharnaces, 
then to his successors, to the time when the Romans put an 
end to the power of Mithridates Eupator. This prince was 
born and brought up in this city, on which he conferred dis- 
tinguished honour, and made it a capital of the kingdom. It 
has received advantages from nature which have been im- 
proved by art. It is built upon the neck of a peninsula ; on 
each side of the isthmus are harbours, stations for vessels, and 
fisheries worthy of admiration for the capture of the pela- 
mydes. Of these fisheries we have said^ that the people of 
Sinope have the second, and the Byzantines the third, in 
point of excellence. 

The peninsula projects in a circular form ; the shores are 
surrounded by a chain of rocks, and in some parts there are 
cavities, like rocky pits, which are called Choenicides. These 
are filled when the sea is high. For the above reason, the 
place is not easily approached ; besides which, along the whole 
surface of rock the road is covered with sharp-pointed stones, 
and persons cannot walk upon it with naked feet. The lands 
in the higher parts and above the city have a good soil, and 
are adorned with fields dressed as gardens, and this is the case 
in a still greater degree in the suburbs. The city itself is 
well secured with walls, and magnificently ornamented with 
a gymnasium, forum, and porticos. Notwithstanding these 
advantages for defence, it was twice taken ; first by Phar- 
naces, who attacked it unexpectedly ; afterwards by Lucullus, 
who besieged it while it was harassed by an insidious tyrant 
within the walls. For Bacchides,^ who was appointed by the 
king commander of the garrison, being always suspicious of 
treachery on the part of those within the city, had disgraced 
and put many to death. He thus prevented the citizens both 
from defending themselves with bravery, although capable of 
making a gallant defence, and from offering terms for a capitul- 
ation. The city was therefore captured. Lucullus took away 

* B. vii. c. vi. § 2, 

2 The eunuch Bacchides, or Bacchus, according to others, whom Mi- 
thridates, after despairing of success, commissioned with the order for his 
women to die. Plutarch, Life of Lticulhcs. 



B. XII. c. III. § 12. PONTUS. SINOPE. 293 

the Sphere of Billarus,^ and the Autolycus,^ the workmanship 
of Sthenis, whom the citizens regarded as a founder, and 
honoured as a god ; he left the other ornaments of the city- 
untouched. There was there an oracle of Sthenis. He seems 
to have been one of the companions of Jason in his voyage, 
and to have got possession of this place. In after times the 
Milesians, observing the natural advantages of the city, and the 
weakness of the inhabitants, appropriated it as their own, and 
sent out colonists. It has at present a Roman colony, and a part 
of the city and of the territory belongs to the Romans. It is 
distant from Hieron^ 3500, from Heracleia 2000, and from 
Carambis 700, stadia. It has produced men distinguished 
among philosophers, Diogenes the Cynic, and Timotheus sur- 
named Patrion ; among poets, Diphilus, the writer of comedy ; 
among historians. Baton,'* who wrote the history of Persia. 

12. Proceeding thence, next in order is the mouth of the 
river Halys. It has its name from the hales, or salt mines,^ 
near which it flows. It has its source in the Greater Cap- 
padocia, near the territory of Pontus, in Camisene. It flows 
in a large stream towards the west, then turning to the north 
through the country of the Galatians and Paphlagonians, forms 
the boundary of their territory, and of that of the Leuco- Syrians. 
The tract of land belonging to Sinope and all the mountainous 
country as far as Bithynia, situated above the sea-coast, which 
has been described, furnishes timber of excellent quality for 
ship-building, and is easily conveyed away. The territory of 

' Probably a celestial globe constructed by Billarus, or on the prin- 
ciples of Billarus, a person otherwise unknown. Strabo mentions, b. ii. 
c. V. § 10, the Sphere of Crates, Cicero the Sphere of Archimedes and of 
Posidonius. History speaks of several of these spheres, among others 
of that of Ptolemy and Aratus. Leontinus, a mechanician of the sixth 
century, explains the manner in which this last was constructed. 

'^ Lucullus, upon his entry into Sinope, put to death 8000 Cilicians 
whom he found there. The rest of the inhabitants, after having set fire 
to the town, carried with them the statue of Autolycus, the founder of 
Sinope, the work of Sthenis ; but not having time to put it on board ship, 
it was left on the sea-shore. Autolycus was one of the companions of 
Hercules in his expedition against the Amazons. Sthenis, as well as his 
brother Lysistratus, was a celebrated statuary; he was a native of Olyn- 
thus and a contemporary of Alexander the Great. 

' The temple of Jupiter Urius near Chalcedon. 

* He was also the author of a History of the Tyrants of Ephesus. 
Athenceus, b. vi. c. 59, p. 395, Bohn's Class. Library. 

* airb tGjv aXCjv. 



294 STRABO. Casaub. 546. 

Sinope produces the maple, and the mountain nut tree, from 
which wood for tables is cut. The whole country is plant- 
ed with the olive, and cultivation begins a little above the sea- 
coast. 

13. Next to the mouth of the Halys is Gadilonitis, extending 
as far as the Saramene ; it is a fertile country, wholly con- 
sisting of plains, and produces every kind of fruit. It affords 
also pasture for flocks of sheep which are covered ^ with skins, 
and produce a soft wool ; very little of this wool is to be found 
throughout Cappadocia and Pontus. There are also deer,^ 
which are rare in other parts. 

The Amiseni possess one part of this country. Pompey 
gave another to Deiotarus, as well as the tract about Phar- 
nacia and Trapezus as far as Colchis and the Lesser Armenia. 
Pompey appointed him king of these people and countries : he 
had already inherited the tetrarchy of the Galatians, called the 
Tolistobogii. Upon his death various persons succeeded to 
the different parts of his kingdom. 

14. Next to Gadilon^are the Saramene,'* and Amisus, a 
considerable city distant from Sinope about 900 stadia. Theo- 
pompus says that the Milesians were the first founders, * 

***** 5 [then by] a chief of the 

Cappadocians ; . in the third place it received a colony of 
Athenians under the conduct of Athenocles, and its name was 
changed to Piraseus. 

This city also was in the possession of the kings. Mithri- 
dates Eupator embellished it with temples, and added a part 
to it. Lucullus, and afterwards Pharnaces, who came from 
across the Bosporus, besieged it. Antony surrendered it to 
the kings of Pontus, after it had been declared free by Divus 
Caesar. Then the Tyrant Strato oppressed the inhabitants, 
who again recovered their liberty under Caesar Augustus after 
the battle of Actium. They are now in a prosperous condi- 
tion. Among other fertile spots is Themiscyra,^ the abode of 
the Amazons, and Sidene."^ 

* B. iv. c. iv. § 3. ' ZopKBQ. 3 Wesir Kopti. 

* The district between the Halys (Kizil Irmak) and the Iris (Jeschil 
Irmak). 

' Some words of the text are lost. 

® The tract of country between the Iris and the Therm odon. 

' The territory on the east of the Thermodon (Termeh). 



B. XII. c. III. § 15, 16. PONTUS. 295 

15. Themiscyra is a plain, partly washed by the sea, and 
distant about 60 stadia from the city (Amisus) ; and partly 
situated at the foot of a mountainous country, which is well 
wooded, and intersected with rivers, which have their source 
among the mountains. A river, named Thermodon, which 
receives the water of all these rivers, traverses the plain. 

Another river very similar to this, of the name of Iris,^ 
flowing from a place called Phanaroea,^ traverses the same plain. 
It has its sources in Pontus. Flowing westward through the 
city of Pontic Comana,^ and through Dazimonitis,* a fertile 
plain, it then turns to the north beside Gaziura,'^ an ancient 
seat of the kings, but now deserted ; it then again returns to 
the east, where, uniting with the Scylax^ and other rivers, 
and taking its course beside the walls of my native place, 
Amaseia,' a very strongly fortified city, proceeds to Phanaroea. 
There when joined by the Lycus,^ which rises in Armenia, it 
becomes the Iris. It then enters Themiscyra, and dis- 
charges itself into the Euxine. This plain, therefore, is well 
watered with dews, is constantly covered with herbage, and 
is capable of affording food to herds of cattle as well as to 
horses. The largest crops there consist of panic and millet, 
or rather they never fail, for the supply of water more than 
counteracts the effect of all drought ; these people, therefore, 
never on any occasion experience a famine. The country at 
the foot of the mountains produces so large an autumnal crop 
of spontaneous-grown wild fruits, of the vine, the pear, the 
apple, and hazel, that, in all seasons of the year, persons who 
go into the woods to cut timber gather them in large quan- 
tities ; the fruit is found either yet hanging upon the trees or 
lyjng beneath a deep covering of fallen leaves thickly strewed 
upon the ground. Wild animals of all kinds, which resort 
here on account of the abundance of food, are frequently 
hunted. 

16. Next to Themiscyra is Sidene, a fertile plain, but not 
watered in the same manner by rivers as Themiscyra. It has 
strongholds on the sea-coast, as Side,^ from which Sidene has 

* Jeschil Irmak. ^ Tasch Owa. •'' Gumenek. * Kas Owa. 
' Turchal. ' Tschoterlek Irmak. ' Amasija. 

^ Germeili Tschai. 

* At the mouth of the river Puleman. 



296 STRABO. 



Casaub. 548. 



its name, Chabaca and Phabda (Phauda).i Amisene extends 
as far as this place. 

Among the natives of Amisus^ distinguished for their learn- 
ing were the mathematicians Demetrius, the son of Rathenus, 
and Dionysodorus, of the same name as the Ionian (Milesian ?) 
geometrician, and Tyrannion the grammarian, whose lessons 
I attended. 

17. Next to Sidene is Pharnacia^ a small fortified city, and 
then follows Trapezus,'* a Greek city, to which from Amisus 
is a voyage of about 2200 stadia; thence to the Phasis 
about 1400 stadia, so that the sum total of stadia from the 
Hieron^ to the Phasis is about 8000 stadia, either more or less. 

In sailing along this coast from Amisus we first come to 
the Heracleian promontory ;^ then succeeds another promon- 
tory, Jasonium,'^ and the Genetes ;® then Cytorus (Cotyorus) a 
small city,^ from which Pharnacia received a colony ; then 
Ischopolis, which is in ruins. Next is a bay on which are 
situated Cerasus, and Hermonassa,^^ small settlements. Near 
Hermonassa is Trapezus, then Colchis. Somewhere about 
this place is a settlement called Zygopolis. 

I have already spoken of Colchis, and of the sea-coast be- 
yond. ^^ 

18. Above Trapezus and Pharnacia are situated Tibareni, 
Chald£ei, Sanni, (who were formerly called Macrones,i'^) and 
the Lesser Armenia. The Appaitae also, formerly called 
Cercitae, are not far from these places. Through the country be- 
longing to these people stretches the Scydises,^^ a very rugged 
mountain, contiguous to the Moschic mountains^'* above Colchis. 
The heights of the Scy discs are occupied by the Heptacometas.^''' 
This country is likewise traversed by the Paryadres,^^ which 
extends from the neighbourhood of Sidene and Themiscyra to 
the Lesser Armenia, and forms the eastern side of the Pontus. 

* Fatsa ? 2 Samsun. 

* According to Arrian, Pharnacia in his time was the name of Cerasns 
(Kerasun). 

* Trebisond. * The temple of Jupiter near Chalcedon. 

^ To the west of the mouth of the Termeh. ^ Jasun. ^ C Vona. 

9 Ordu. 10 Platana. " B. xi. c. ii. § 12. 

'- Probably the same as the Macropogones and Macrocephali. 

'^ Aggi-dagh. " The mountains above Erzeroum. 

'* The inhabitants of the Seven Villages. *« lildiz-dagh. 



B. XII. c. III. § 19, 20. PONTUS. 297 

All the inhabitants of these mountains are quite savage, 
but the Heptacometae are more so than all the others. Some 
of them live among trees, or in small towers, whence the 
ancients called them Mosynceci,^ because the towers were 
called mosynes. Their food consists of the flesh of wild ani- 
mals and the fruits of trees. They attack travellers, leaping 
down from the floors of their dwellings among the trees. The 
Heptacoraetas cut off three of Pompey's cohorts, as they were 
passing through the mountains, by placing on their road 
vessels filled with maddening honey, which is procured from 
the branches of trees. The men who had tasted the honey 
and lost their senses were attacked and easily despatched. 
Some of these barbarians were called Byzeres. 

19. The present Chaldaei were anciently called Chalybes. 
It is in their territory chiefly that Pharnacia is situated. On 
the sea-coast it has natural advantages for the capture of the 
pelamydes. For this fish is first caught at this place. On 
the mainland there are at present mines of iron ; formerly 
there were also mines of silver. The sea-shore along all these 
places is very narrow, for directly above it are hills, which 
abound with mines and forests ; much, however, of the country 
is not cultivated. The miners derive their subsistence from 
the mines, and the fishermen from the fisheries, especially 
from the capture of pelamydes and dolphins. The dolphins 
pursue shoals of fish, the cordyla, the tunny, and even the 
pelamys ; they grow fat on them, and as they approach the 
land incautiously, are easily taken. They are caught with a 
bait and then cut into pieces ; large quantities of the fat are 
used for all purposes. 

20. These I suppose are the people who are called by 
Homer Halizoni, who in his Catalogue follow the Paphlago- 
nians. 

"But Odius and Epistrophus led the Halizoni 
Far from Alybe, where there are silver mines ; "' 

whether the writing was changed from " far from Chalybe," 
or whether the people were formerly called Alybes instead of 
Chalybes. We cannot at present say that it is possible that 
Chaldaei should be read for Chalybes, but it cannot be maintain- 
ed that formerly Chalybes could not be read for Alybes, espe- 

' Dwellers in towers. * II. ii. 856. 



298 STRABO. Casaub. 549. 

cially when we know that names are subject to many changes, 
more especially among barbarians. For example, a tribe of 
Thracians were called Sinties, then Sinti, then Saii, in whose 
country Archilochus is said to have thrown away his shield : 

" one of the Saii exults in having a shield, which, without blame, I invo- 
luntarily left behind in a thicket." 

This same people have now the name of Sapaei. For all 
these people were settled about Abdera, they also held Lem- 
nos and the islands about Lemnos. Thus also Brygi, Briges, 
and Phryges are the same people; and Mysi, Maeones, and 
Meones are the same people. But it is unnecessary to multi- 
ply instances of this kind. 

The Seepsian (Demetrius) throws some doubt on the alter- 
ation of the name from Alybes to Chalybes, but not under- 
standing what follows, nor what accords with it, nor, in par- 
ticular, why the poet calls the Chalybes Alizoni, he rejects 
the opinion that there has been an alteration of name. In 
comparing his opinion with my own I shall consider also the 
hypotheses entertained by others. 

21. Some persons alter the word to Alazones, others to 
Amazons, and " Alybe " to " Alope," or " Alobe," calling 
the Scythians above the Borysthenes Alazones and Callipida3, 
and by other names, about which Hellanicus, Herodotus, and 
Eudoxus have talked very absurdly ; some say that the Ama- 
zons were situated between Mysia, Caria, and Lydia near 
Cyme, which is the opinion also of Ephorus, who was a native 
of the latter place. And this opinion may not be unreason- 
able, for he may mean the country which in later times was 
inhabited by the JEolians and lonians, but formerly by Ama- 
zons. There are some cities, it is said, which have their 
names from the Amazons ; as Ephesus, Smyrna, Cyme, and 
Myrina. But would any one think of inquiring in these 
places after Alybe, or, according to some writers, Alope, or 
Alobe ; what would be the meaning of " from afar," or where 
is the silver mine ? 

22. These objections he solves by an alteration in the text, 
for he writes the verses in this manner, 

" But Odius and Epistrophus led the Amazons, 

Who came from Alope, whence the tribe of the Amazonides." 

But by this solution he has invented another fiction. For 



B. XII. c. III. § 22. PONTUS. 299 

Alope is nowhere to be found in that situation, and the alter- 
ation in the text, itself a great change, and contrary to the 
authority of ancient copies, looks like an adaptation formed 
for the occasion. 

The Scepsian (Demetrius) does not adopt the opinion of 
Ephorus, nor does he agree with those who suppose them to 
be the Halizoni about Pallene, whom we mentioned in the de- 
scription of Macedonia. He is at a loss also to understand 
how any one could suppose that auxiliaries could come to the 
Trojans from the Nomades situated above the Borysthenes. 
He much approves of the opinion of Hecataeus the Milesian, 
and of Menecrates of Elea, disciples of Xenocrates, and that 
of Palnephatus. The first of these says in his work entitled 
'• the Circuit of the Earth," " near the city Alazia is the river 
Odrysses, which after flowing through the plain of Mygdonia 
from the west, out of the lake Dascylitis, empties itself into 
the Rhyndacus." He further relates that Alazia is now de- 
serted, but that many villages of the Alazones through which 
the Odrysses flows are inhabited. In these villages Apollo 
is worsihpped with peculiar honours, and especially on the 
confines of the Cyziceni. 

Menecrates, in his work " the Circuit of the Hellespont," 
says that above the places near Myrleia there is a continuous 
mountain tract occupied by the nation of the Halizoni. The 
name, he says, ought to be written with two I's, Hallizoni, 
but the poet uses one only on account of the metre. 

Palsephatus says that Odius and Epistrophus levied their 
army from among the Amazons then living in Alope, but at 
present in Zeleia.^ 

Do the opinions of these persons deserve approbation ? For 
besides their alteration of the ancient text, and the position of 
this people, they neither point out the silver mines, nor where 
in Myrleatis Alope is situated, nor how they, who came 
thence to Troy, came "from afar," although it should be 
granted that there existed an Alope, or an Alazia. For these 
are much nearer Troy than the places about Ephesus. Those, 
however, are triflers, in the opinion of Demetrius, who speak of 
the existence of Amazons near Pygela, between Ephesus, 
Magnesia, and Priene, for the words "from afar" do not 
agree with the spot ; much less will they agree with a situa- 
tion about Mysia, and Tenth rania. 
* Sarakoi. 



300 STRABO. Casaub. 551. 

23. This may be true, says he, but some expressions are to 
be understood as loosely applied, such as these, 

" Far from Ascania," ^ 
and 

" His name was Arnaeus, given to him by his honoured mother," ' 
and 

" Penelope seized the well-turned key with her firm hand."' 

But admitting this, the other assertions are not to be allowed 
to which Demetrius is disposed to attend ; nor has he refuted 
in a convincing manner those persons who maintain that we 
ought to read " far from Chalybe." For having conceded 
that, although at present there are not silver mines among the 
Chalybes, they might formerly have existed, he does not 
grant that they were far-famed, and worthy of notice, like 
the iron mines. But some one may say, what should prevent 
them from being as famous as the iron mines, or does an 
abundance of iron make a place celebrated, and not an abund- 
ance of silver? Again, if the silver mines had obtained 
celebrity in the age of Homer, but not in the heroic times, can 
any one blame the poet's representation ? How did their fame 
reach him ? How did the fame of the copper mines at Temesa 
in Italy, or of the wealth of Thebes in Egypt, reach his ears, 
although Egyptian Thebes was situated almost at double the 
distance of the Chaldsei. 

But Demetrius does not altogether agree with those whose 
opinions he espouses. For when he is describing the neigh- 
bourhood of Scepsis his own birth-place, he mentions Enea, a 
village, Argyria, and Alazonia, as near Scepsis, and the ^sepus ;* 
but if these places exist at all, they must be near the sources of 
the ^sepus. Hecateeus places them beyond the mouths of that 
river. Palsephatus, who says that the Amazons formerly oc- 
cupied Alope, and at present Zeleia, does not advance any- 
thing in agreement with these statements. But if Menecrates 
agrees with Demetrius, neither does Menecrates say what this 
Alope, or Alobe, is, (or, in whatever manner they please to 
write the name,) nor yet does Demetrius himself. 

24. With regard to Apollodorus, who mentions these places 
in his discourse on the array of the Trojan forces, we have 

' II. ii. 863. '^ Od. xviii. 5. 3 Od. xxi. 6. 

* In Kiepert's map it is without a name. Leake calls it Boklu. It 
falls into the sea to the west of Cyzicus. 



B. xir. c. III. § 25. PONTUS. 301 

said much before in reply to him, and we must now speak of 
him again. ^ He is of opinion that we ought not to understand 
the Halizoni without the Halys, for no auxiliaries came to 
Troy from the country on the other side of the Halys. 
First, then, we will inquire of him who are the Halizoni 
within the Halys, and situated 

" far from Alybe, where are silver mines ? " 

He will not he able to reply. Next we will ask the reason 
why he does not admit that some auxiliaries came from the 
country on the other side of the Halys. For if it was the 
case, that all the rest were living on this side the Halys, ex- 
cept the Thracians, nothing prevented this one body of allies 
from coming from afar, from the country beyond the Leuco- 
Syrians ? Or, was it possible for the persons immediately 
engaged in the war to pass over from those places, and from 
the country beyond them, as the Amazons, Treres, and Cim- 
merians, but impossible for allies to do so ? 

The Amazons were not allies, because Priam had fought in 
alliance with the Phrygians against them : 

" at that time, says Priam, I was among their auxiliaries on that day, 
when the Amazons came to attack them."^ 

The people also who were living on the borders of the 
country of the Amazons were not situated at so great a dis- 
tance that it was difficult to send for them from thence, nor 
did any animosity exist, I suppose, at that time to prevent 
them from affording assistance. 

25. Nor is there any foundation for the opinion, that all the 
ancients agree that no people from the country beyond the 
Halys took part in the Trojan war. Testimony may be 
found to the contrary. Maeandrius at least says that Heneti 
came from the country of the Leuco-Syrians to assist the Tro- 
jans in the war ; that they set sail thence with the Thracians, 
and settled about the recess of the Adriatic ; and that the 
Heneti, who had no place in the expedition, were Cappadocians. 
This account seems to agree with the circumstance, that the 
people inhabiting the whole of that part of Cappadocia near the 
Halys, which extends along Paphlagonia, speak two dialects, 
and that their language abounds with Paphlagonian names, as 

» B. vii. c. iii. § 6. B. i. c. ii. § 23. = II. iu. 189. 



302 STRABO. Casaub. 553. 

Bagas, Biasas, JEniates, Rhatotes, Zardoces, Tibius, Gasys, 
Oligasys, and Maries. For these names are frequently to be 
found in the Bamonitis, the Pimolitis, the Gazaluitis, and 
Gazacene, and in most of the other districts. Apollodorus 
himself quotes the words of Homer, altered by Zenodotus ; 

" from Henete, whence comes a race of wild mules," 
and says, that Hecatasus the Milesian understands Henete to 
mean Amisus. But we have shown that Amisus belongs to 
the Leuco- Syrians, and is situated beyond the Halys. 

26. He also somewhere says that the poet obtained his 
knowledge of the Paphlagonians, situated in the interior, from 
persons who had travelled through the country on foot, but 
that he was not acquainted with the sea-coast any more than 
with the rest of the territory of Pontus; for otherwise he 
would have mentioned it by name. We may, on the con- 
trary, after the description which has just been given of the 
country, retort and say that he has traversed the whole of the 
sea-coast, and has omitted nothing worthy of record which 
existed at that time. It is not surprising that he does not 
mention Heracleia, Amastris, or Sinope, for they were not 
founded ; nor is it strange that he should omit to speak of 
the interior of the country; nor is it a proof of ignorance 
not to specify by name many places which were well known, 
as we have shown in a preceding part of this work. 

He says that Homer was ignorant of much that was re- 
markable in Pontus, as rivers and nations, otherwise he would 
have mentioned their names. This may be admitted with 
respect to some very remarkable nations and rivers, as the 
Scythians, the Palus Mseotis, and the Danube. For he would 
not have described the Nomades, by characteristic signs, as 
living on milk, Abii, a people without certain means of sub- 
sistence, "most just" and "renowned Hippemolgi," (milkers 
of mares,) and not distinguished them as Scythians, or Sauro- 
matse, or Sarmatas, if, indeed, they had these names among 
the Greeks (at that time). Nor in mentioning the Thracians 
and Mysians, who live near the Danube, would he have 
passed over in silence the Danube itself, one of the largest 
rivers, particularly as, in other instances, he is inclined to 
mark the boundaries of places by rivers ; nor in speaking of 
the Cimmerians would he have omitted the Bosporus, or the 
Maiotis. 



B. XII. c. III. § 27. PONTUS. 303 

27. With respect then to places not so remarkable, or not 
famous at that time, or not illustrating the subject of his poem, 
who can blame the poet for omitting them ? As, for example, 
omitting to mention the Don, famed only as it is for being the 
boundary of Asia and Europe. The persons however of that 
time were not accustomed to use the name either of Asia or 
Europe, nor was the habitable earth divided into three conti- 
nents ; otherwise he would have mentioned them by name on 
account of their strong characteristic marks, as he mentioned 
by name Libya (Africa), and the Libs (the south-west wind), 
blowing from the western parts of Africa. But as the conti- 
nents were not yet distinguished, it was not necessary that he 
should mention the Don. There were many things worthy of 
record, which did not occur to him. For both in actions and 
in discourse much is done and said without any cause or motive, 
by merely spontaneously presenting itself to the mind. 

It is evident from all these circumstances that every person 
who concludes that because a certain thing is not mentioned 
by the poet he was therefore ignorant of it, uses a bad argu- 
ment ; and we must prove by several examples that it is bad, 
for many persons employ this kind of evidence to a great 
extent. We must refute them therefore by producing such 
instances as these which follow, although we shall repeat what 
has been already said. 

If any one should maintain that the poet was not acquainted 
with a river which he has not mentioned, we should say that 
his argument is absurd, for he has not mentioned by name even 
the river Meles, which runs by Smyrna, his birth-place ac- 
cording to many writers, while he has mentioned the rivers 
Hermusand Hyllus byname, but yet not the Pactolus,^ which 
discharges itself into the same channel as these rivers, and 
rises in the mountain Tmolus.^ He does not mention either 
Smyrna itself, or the other cities of the lonians, or most of those 
of the ^olians, although he specifies Miletus, Samos, Lesbos, 
and Tenedos. He does not mention the Lethaeus, which flows 
beside Magnesia,^ nor the Marsyas, which rivers empty them- 
selves into the Maeander,'* which he mentions by name, as well as 

* B. xiii. c. iv. § 5, it joins the Hyllus, called Phrygius in the time of 
Strabo. The Phrygius takes its rise in the mountains north of Thyatira, 
(Ak Hissar,) and falls into the Hermus (Gedis Tschai). 

* Bos Dagh. ^ Manisa. ■• Bojuk Meinder. 



304 STRABO. Casaub. 554. 

" the Rhesus, Heptapoius, Caresus, and Rhodius,"^ 
and others, many of which are not more than small streams. 
While he specifies by name many countries and cities, some- 
times he makes an enumeration of rivers and mountains, 
sometimes he does not do so. He does not mention the rivers 
in JEtolia and Attica, nor many others. And if, in mentioning 
people that live afar off, he does not mention those who are 
very near, it is certainly not through ignorance of them, for 
they were well known to other writers. With respect to peo- 
ple who were all equally near, he does not observe one rule, 
for some he mentions, and not others, as for instance he mentions 
the Lycii, and Solymi, but not the Milyae, nor Pamphylians, 
nor Pisidians ; the Paphlagonians, Phrygians, and Mysians, 
but not the Mariandyni, nor Thyni, nor Bithynians, nor Be- 
bryces ; the Amazons, but not the Leuco- Syrians, nor Syrians, 
nor Cappadocians, nor Lycaonians, while he frequently speaks 
of the Phcenicians, -Egyptians, and Ethiopians. He men- 
tions the Aleian plain, and the Arimi mountains, but not the 
nation among which these are situated. 

The argument drawn from this is false ; the true argument 
would have been to show that the poet has asserted what is 
not true. Apollodorus has not succeeded in this attempt, and 
he has more particularly failed when he ventures to call by the 
name of fiction " the renowned Hippemolgi and Galactophagi." 
So much then in reply to Apollodorus. I now return to the 
part of my description which follows next in order. 

28. Above the places about Pharnacia and Trapezus are 
the Tibareni, and Chaldgei, extending as far as the Lesser 
Armenia. 

The Lesser Armenia is sufficiently fertile. Like Sophene 
it was always governed by princes who were sometimes in 
alliance with the other Armenians, and sometimes acting inde- 
pendently. They held in subjection the Chaldaei and Tibareni. 
Their dominion extended as far as Trapezus and Pharnacia. 
When Mithri dates Eupator became powerful, he made himself 
master of Colchis, and of all those places which were ceded to 
him by Antipater the son of Sisis. He bestowed however so 
much care upon them, that he built seventy-five strongholds, 
in which he deposited the greatest part of his treasure. The 
most considerable of these were Hydara, Basgoedariza, and 
» II. xii. 20. ^ B. vii. c. iii. § 6. 



B. XII. c. III. § 29, 30. PONTUS. 305 

Sinoria, a fortress situated on the borders of the Greater Ar- 
menia, whence Theophanes parodied the name, and called it 
Sjnoria. 

All the mountainous range of the Paryadres has many such 
convenient situations for fortresses, being well supplied with 
water and timber, it is intersected in many places by abrupt 
ravines and precipices. Here he built most of the strongholds 
for keeping his treasure. At last on the invasion of the 
country by Pompey he took refuge in these extreme parts of 
the kingdom of Pontus, and occupied a mountain near Das- 
teira in Acilisene, which was well supplied with water. The 
Euphrates also was near, which is the boundary between Acili- 
sene and the Lesser Armenia. Mithridates remained there 
till he was besieged and compelled to fly across the mountains 
into Colchis, and thence to Bosporus. Pompey built near this 
same place in the Lesser Armenia Nicopolis, a city which yet- 
subsists, and is well inhabited. 

29. The Lesser Armenia, which was in the possession of 
different persons at different times, according to the pleasure 
of the Romans, was at last subject to Archelaus. The Tiba- 
reni, however, and Chaldsei, extending as far as Colchis, Phar- 
nacia, and Trapezus, are under the government of Pythodoris, 
a prudent woman, and capable of presiding over the manage- 
ment of public affairs. She is the daughter of Pythodorus of 
Tralles. She was the wife of Polemo, and reigned con- 
jointly with him for some time. She succeeded, after his 
death, to the throne. He died in the country of the Aspur- 
giani, a tribe of barbarians living about Sindica. She had 
two sons by Polemo, and a daughter who was married to 
Cotys the Sapsean. He was treacherously murdered, and she 
became a widow. She had children by him, the eldest of whom 
is now king. Of the sons of Pythodoris, one as a private 
person, administers, together with his mother, the affairs of 
the kingdom, the other has been lately made king of the 
Greater Armenia. Pythodoris however married Archelaus, 
and remained with him till his death. At present she is a 
widow, and in possession of the countries before mentioned, 
and of others still more beautiful, of which we shall next speak. 

30. Sidene, and Themiscyra are contiguous to Pharnacia. 
Above these countries is situated Phanaroea, containing the 
best portion of the Pontus, for it produces excellent oil and 



306 STRABO. Casaub. 556. 

wine, and possesses every other property of a good soil. On 
the eastern side it lies in front of the Paryadres which 
runs parallel to it ; on the western side it has the Lithrus, 
and the Ophlimus. It forms a valley of considerable length 
and breadth. The Lycus, coming out of Armenia, flows 
through this valley, and the Iris, which issues from the passes 
near Amaseia. Both these rivers unite about the middle 
of the valley. A city stands at their confluence which the 
first founder called Eupatoria, after his own name. Pompey 
found it half-finished, and added to it a territory, furnished 
it with inhabitants, and called it Magnopolis. It lies in the 
middle of the plain. Close to the foot of the Paryadres is 
situated Cabeira, about 150 stadia further to the south than 
Magnopolis, about which distance likewise, but towards the 
west, is Amaseia. At Cabeira was the palace of Mithridates, 
the water-mill, the park for keeping wild animals, the hunting- 
ground in the neighbourhood, and the mines. 

31. There also is the Cainochorion, (New Castle,) as it is 
called, a fortified and precipitous rock, distant from Cabeira 
less than 200 stadia. On its summit is a spring, which throws 
up abundance of water, and at its foot a river, and a deep ravine. 
The ridge of rocks on which it stands is of very great height, 
so that it cannot be taken by siege. It is enclosed with an ex- 
cellent wall, except the part where it has been demolished by 
the Romans. The whole country around is so covered with 
wood, so mountainous, and destitute of water, that an enemy 
cannot encamp within the distance of 120 stadia. There 
Mithridates had deposited his most valuable effects, which are 
now in the Capitol, as offerings dedicated by Pompey. 

Pythodoris is in possession of all this country ; (for it is con- 
tiguous to that of the barbarians, which she holds as a con- 
quered country ;) shealso holds the Zelitis and the Megalopolitis. 
After Pompey had raised Cabeira to the rank of a city, and 
called it Diospolis, Pythodoris improved it still more, changed 
its name to Sebaste, (or Augusta,) and considers it a royal city. 

She has also the temple of Men surnamed of Pharnaces, at 
Araeria, a village city, inhabited by a large body of sacred 
menials, and having annexed to it a sacred territory, the pro- 
duce of which is always enjoyed by the priest. The kings 
held this temple in such exceeding veneration, that this was 
the Royal oath, " by the fortune of the king, and by Men of 



B. xii. c. III. § 32, 33. PONTUS. 307 

Pharnaces." This is also the temple of the moon, like that 
among the Albani, and those in Phrygia, namely the temple of 
Men in a place of the same name, the temple of Ascaeus at 
Antioch in Pisidia, and another in the territory of Antioch. 

32. Above Phanaroea is Comana^ in Pontus, of the same 
name as that in the Greater Cappadocia, and dedicated to the 
same goddess. The temple is a copy of that in Cappadocia, 
and nearly the same course of religious rites is practised there ; 
the mode of delivering the oracles is the same ; the same respect 
is paid to the priests, as was more particularly the case in the 
time of the first kings, when twice a year, at what is called the 
Exodi of the goddess, (when her image is carried in procession,) 
the priest wore the diadem of the goddess and received the 
chief honours after the king. 

33. We have formerly mentioned Dorylaus the Tactician, 
who was my mother's great grandfather ; and another Dorylaus, 
who was the nephew of the former, and the son of Philetserus ; 
I said that, although he had obtained from Mithridates the 
highest dignities and even the priesthood of Comana, he was 
detected in the fact of attempting the revolt of the kingdom 
to the Romans. Upon his fall the family also was disgraced. 
At a later period however Moaphernes, my mother's uncle, rose 
to distinction near upon the dissolution of the kingdom. But a 
second time he and his friends shared in the misfortunes of 
the king, except those persons who had anticipated the ca- 
lamity and deserted him early. This was the case with my 
maternal grandfather, who, perceiving the unfortunate progress 
of the affairs of the king in the war with Lucullus, and at the 
same time being alienated from him by resentment for having 
lately put to death his nephew Tibius, and his son Theophilus, 
undertook to avenge their wrongs and his own. He obtained 
pledges of security from Lucullus, and caused fifteen fortresses 
to revolt ; in return he received magnificent promises. On 
the arrival of Pompey, who succeeded Lucullus in the conduct 
of the war, he regarded as enemies (in consequence of the 
enmity which subsisted between himself and that general) all 
those persons who had performed any services that were ac- 
ceptable to Lucullus. On his return home at the conclusion 
of the war he prevailed upon the senate not to confirm those 
honours which Lucullus had promised to some persons of 

' Gumeiiek. 
X 2 



308 STRABO. Casaub. 558. 

Pontus, maintaining it to be unjust towards a general who had 
brought the war to a successful issue, that the rewards and dis- 
tribution of honours should be placed in the hands of another. 

34. The affairs of Comana were administered as has been 
described in the time of the kings. Pompey, when he had ob- 
tained the power, appointed Archelaus priest, and assigned to 
him a district of two schoeni, or 60 stadia in circuit, in addi- 
tion to the sacred territory, and gave orders to the inhabitants 
to obey Archelaus. He was their governor, and master of the 
sacred slaves who inhabited the city, but had not the power of 
selling them. The slaves amounted to no less than six thou- 
sand. 

This Archelaus was the son of that Archelaus who received 
honours from Sylla and the senate ; he was the friend of 
Gabinius, a person of consular rank. When the former was 
sent into Syria, he came with the expectation of accompanying 
him, when he was making preparations for the Parthian war, 
but the senate would not permit him to do so, and he abandoned 
this, and conceived a greater design. 

Ptolemy, the father of Cleopatra, happened at this time to be 
ejected from his kingdom by the Egyptians. His daughter 
however, the elder sister of Cleopatra, was in possession of the 
throne. When inquiries were making in order to marry her to 
a husband of royal descent, Archelaus presented himself to 
those who were negotiating the affair, and pretended to be 
the son of Mithridates Eupator. He was accepted, but reigned 
only six months. He was killed by Gabinius in a pitched 
battle, in his attempt to restore Ptolemy. 

35. His son however succeeded to the priesthood, and Ly- 
comedes succeeded him, to whom was assigned an additional 
district of four schoeni (or 120 stadia) in extent. When Ly- 
comedes was dispossessed he was succeeded by Dyteutus, the 
son of Adiatorix, who still occupies the post, and appears to 
have obtained this honour from Csesar Augustus on account of 
his good conduct on the following occasion. 

Caesar, after leading in triumph Adiatorix, with his wife and 
children, had resolved to put him to death together with the 
eldest of his sons. Dyteutus was the eldest ; but when the 
second of his brothers told the soldiers who were leading them 
away to execution that he was the eldest, there was a contest 
between the two brothers, which continued for some time, tiU 



B. xii. c. ni. § 36, 37, PONTUS. 309 

the parents prevailed upon Dyteutus to yield to the younger, 
assigning as a reason, that the eldest would be a better person 
to protect his mother and his remaining brother. The younger 
was put to death together with his father ; the elder was saved, 
and obtained this office. When Caesar was informed of the 
execution of these persons, he regretted it, and, considering 
the survivors worthy of his favour and protection, bestowed 
upon them this honourable appointment. 

36. Comana is populous, and is a considerable mart, fre- 
quented by persons coming from Armenia. Men and women 
assemble there from all quarters from the cities and the country 
to celebrate the festival at the time of the exodi or processions 
of the goddess. Some persons under the obligation of a vow 
are always residing there, and perform sacrifices in honour 
of the goddess. 

The inhabitants are voluptuous in their mode of life. All 
their property is planted with vines, and there is a multitude 
of women, who make a gain of their persons, most of whom 
are dedicated to the goddess. The city is almost a little 
Corinth. On account of the multitude of harlots at Corinth, 
who are dedicated to Venus, and attracted by the festivities of 
the place, strangers resorted thither in great numbers. Mer- 
chants and soldiers were quite ruined, so that hence the pro- 
verb originated, 

" every man cannot go to Corinth." 
Such is the character of Comana. 

37. All the country around is subject to Pythodoris, and 
she possesses also Phanaroea, the Zelitis, and the Megalopolitis. 

We have already spoken of Phanaroea. 

In the district Zelitis is the city Zela,^ built upon the mound 
of Semiramis. It contains the temple of Anaitis, whom the 
Armenians also worship. Sacrifices are performed with more 
pomp than in other places, and all the people of Pontus take 
oaths here in affairs of highest concern. The multitude 
of the sacred menials, and the honours conferred upon the 
priests, were in the time of the kings, upon the plan which I 
have before described. At present, however, everything is 
under the power of Pythodoris, but many persons had previ- 
ously reduced the number of the sacred attendants, injured 
the property and diminished the revenue belonging to the 
' Zileh. 



310 STRABO. Casaub. 660. 

temple. The adjacent district of Zelitis, (in which is the 
city Zela, on the mound of Semiramis,) was reduced by being 
divided into several governments. Anciently, the kings did 
not govern Zela as a city, but regarded it as a temple of the 
Persian gods ; the priest was the director of everything re- 
lating to its administration. It was inhabited by a multitude 
of sacred menials, by the priest, who possessed great wealth, 
and by his numerous attendants ; the sacred territory was 
under the authority of the priest, and it was his own property. 
Pompey added many provinces to Zelitis, and gave the name 
of city to Zela, as well as to Megalopolis. He formed Zelitis, 
Culupene, and Camisene, into one district. The two latter 
bordered upon the Lesser Armenia, and upon Laviansene. 
Fossile salt was found in them, and there was an ancient 
fortress called Camisa, at present in ruins. The Roman go- 
vernors who next succeeded assigned one portion of these two 
governments to the priests of Comana, another to the priest of 
Zela, and another to Ateporix, a chief of the family of the 
tetrarchs of Galatia ; upon his death, this portion, which was 
not large, became subject to the Romans under the name of a 
province. This little state is a political body of itself, Carana^ 
being united with it as a colony, and hence the district has the 
name of Caranitis. The other parts are in the possession of 
Pythodoris, and Dyteutus. 

38. There remain to be described the parts of Pontus, 
situated between this country and the districts of Amisus, and 
Sinope, extending towards Cappadocia, the Galatians, and the 
Paphlagonians. 

Next to the territory of the Amiseni is Phazemonitis,^ 

* This district is at the foot of the mountains which separated the 
Roman from the Persian Armenia. Carana (now Erzum, Erzerum, or 
Garen) was the capital of this district. It was afterwards called Theo- 
dosiopolis, which name was given to it in honour of the Emperor Theo- 
dosius the Younger by Anatolius his general in the East, a. d. 416. It 
was for a long time subject to the Byzantine emperors, who considered it 
the most important fortress of Armenia. About the middle of the 11th 
century it received the name of Arze-el-Rum, contracted into Arzrum or 
Erzrum. It owed its name to the circumstance, that when Arzek was 
taken by the Seljuk Turks, a. d. 1049, the inhabitants of that place, which 
from its long subjection to the Romans had received the epithet of Rum, 
retired to Theodosiopolis, and gave it the name of their former abode. 
Smith. 

» On the S. W. of the ridge of Tauschan Dagh. 



B. XII. C. III. 



PONTUS. 311 



which extends as ftir as the Halys, and which Pompey called 
Neapolitis. He raised the village Phazemon to the rank of a 
city, and increasing its extent gave to it the name of Nea- 
polis.^ The northern side of this tract is bounded by the Ga- 
zelonitis, and by the country of the Amiseni ; the western side 
by the Halys ; the eastern by Phanaroea ; the remainder by 
the territory of Amasis, my native country, which surpasses all 
the rest in extent and fertility. 

The part of Phazemonitis towards Phanaroea is occupied by 
a lake, sea-like in magnitude, called Stiphane,^ which abounds 
with fish, and has around it a large range of pasture adapted 
to all kinds of animals. Close upon it is a strong fortress, 
Cizari, [Icizari,] at present deserted, and near it a royal seat 
in ruins. The rest of the country in general is bare, but pro- 
duces corn. 

Above the district of Amasis are the hot springs ^ of the 
Phazemonit^e, highly salubrious, and the Sagylium,'^ a strong- 
hold situated on a lofty perpendicular hill, stretching upwards 
and terminating in a sharp peak. In this fortress is a reser- 
voir well supplied with water, which is at present neglected, 
but was useful, on many occasions, to the kings. Here the 
sons of Pharnaces the king captured and put to death Arsaces, 
who was governing without the authority of the Roman ge- 
nerals, and endeavouring to produce a revolution in the state. 
The fortress was taken by Polemo and Lycomedes, both of 
them kings, by famine and not by storm. Arsaces, being pre- 
vented from escaping into the plains, fled to the mountains ^ 
without provisions. There he found the wells choked up with 
large pieces of rock. This had been done by order of Pompey, 
who had directed the fortresses to be demolished, and to leave 
nothing in them that could be serviceable to robbers, who 
might use them as places of refuge. Such was the settlement 
of the Phazemonitis made by Pompey. Those who came af- 
terwards divided this district among various kings. 

39. My native city, Amaseia, lies in a deep and extensive 
valley, through which runs the river Iris.^ It is indebted to 
nature and art for its admirable position and construction. It 

^ Mersivan. The text is corrupt. Groskurd's emendation is followed 
in the translation. 
2 Ladik-Gol. ' Kawsa. * Ijan (Tauschan) Kalessi. 

* Tusanlu-su, a branch of the leschil Irmak. 



312 STRABO. Casaub. 561. 

answers the double purpose of a city and a fortress. It is a 
high rock, precipitous on all sides, descending rapidly down 
to the river : on the margin of the river, where the city stands, 
is a wall, and a wall also which ascends on each side of the 
city to the peaks, of which there are two, united by nature, and 
completely fortified with towers. In this circuit of the wall 
are the palace, and the monuments of the kings. The peaks 
are connected together by a very narrow ridge, in height five 
or six stadia on each side, as you ascend from the banks 
of the river, and from the suburbs. From the ridge to the 
peaks there remains another sharp ascent of a stadium in length, 
which defies the attacks of an enemy. Within the rock are 
reservoirs of water, the supply from which the inhabitants 
cannot be deprived of, as two channels are cut, one in the 
direction of the river, the other of the ridge. Two bridges 
are built over the river, one leading from the city to the sub- 
urbs, the other from the suburbs to the country beyond ; for 
near this bridge the mountain, which overhangs the rock, ter- 
minates. 

A valley extends from the river ; it is not very wide at its 
commencement, but afterwards increases in breadth, and forms 
the plain called the Chiliocomon (The Thousand Villages). 
Next is the Diacopene, and the Pimolisene, the whole of which 
is a fertile district extending to the Halys. 

These are the northern parts of the country of the Ama- 
senses, and are in length about 500 stadia. Then follows the 
remainder, which is much longer, extending as far as Baba- 
nomus, and the Ximene,^ which itself reaches to the Halys. 
The breadth is reckoned from north to south, to the Zelitis 
and the Greater Cappadocia, as far as the Trocmi.^ In 
Ximene there is found fossile salt, (aXec, Hales,) from which 
it is supposed the river had the name of Halys. There are 
many ruined fortresses in my native country, and large tracts 
of land made a desert by the Mithridatic war. The whole of 
it, however, abounds with trees. It aiFords pasture for horses, 
and is adapted to the subsistence of other animals ; the whole 
of it is very habitable. Amaseia was given to the kings, but 
at present it is a (Roman) province. 

' West of Koseh Dagh. 

^ Situated between the Kizil Irraak and the river Delidsche Irmak, a 
tributary of the former. 



B. XII. c. III. 9 40, 41. PONTUS. 313 

40. There remains to be described the country within the 
Halys, belonging to the province of Pontus, and situated about 
the Olgassys,^ and contiguous to the Sinopic district. The 01- 
gassys is a very lofty mountain, and difficult to be passed. The 
Paphlagonians have erected temples in every part of this 
mountain. The country around, the Blaene, and the Doma- 
nltis, through which the river Amnias'^ runs, is sufficiently 
fertile. Here it was that Mithridates Eupator entirely de- 
stroyed^ the army of Nicomedes the Bithynian, not in person, 
for he himself happened to be absent, but by his generals. 
Nicomedes fled with a few followers, and escaped into his own 
country, and thence sailed to Italy. Mithridates pursued him, 
and made himself master of Bithynia as soon as he entered it, 
and obtained possession of Asia as far as Caria and Lycia. 
Here is situated Pompeiopolis,^ in which city is the San- 
daracurgium,^ (or Sandaraca works,) it is not far distant 
from Pimolisa, a royal fortress in ruins, from which the coun- 
try on each side of the river is called Piraolisene. The San- 
daracurgium is a mountain hollowed out by large trenches 
made by workmen in the process of mining. The work is al- 
ways carried on at the public charge, and slaves were em- 
ployed in the mine who had been sold on account of their crimes. 
Besides the great labour of the employment, the air is said to 
be destructive of life, and scarcely endurable in consequence of 
the strong odour issuing from the masses of mineral ; hence 
the slaves are short-lived. The mining is frequently suspended 
from its becoming unprofitable, for great expense is incurred 
by the employment of more than two hundred workmen, whose 
number is continually diminishing by disease and fatal ac- 
cidents. 

So much respecting Pontus. 

41. Next to Pompeiopolis is the remainder of the inland 
parts of Paphlagonia as far as Bithynia towards the west. 
This tract, although small in extent, was governed, a little be- 
fore our time, by several princes, but their race is extinct ; at 
present it is in possession of the Romans. The parts border- 
ing upon Bithynia are called Timonitis ; the country of Geza- 

1 Alkas-Dagh. 

^ Gok-Irmak, or Kostambul Tschai, flowing between the mountain 
ridges. Jeralagoz-Dagh and Sarikawak-Dagh. 

3 B. c. 88. * Tasch-Kopri. « Pliny, xxxiv. c. 18. 



•314 STRABO. Casaub. 562. 

torix, Marmolitis, Sanisene, and Potamia. There was also a 
Cimiatene, in which was Cimiata, a strong fortress situated 
at the foot of the mountainous range of the Olgassys. Mi- 
thridates, surnamed Ctistes, (or the Founder,) made it his 
head-quarters when engaged in the conquest of Pontus, and 
his successors kept possession of it to the time of Mithridates 
Eupator. The last king of Paphlagonia was Deiotarus/ son 
of Castor, and surnamed Philadelphus, who possessed Gangra,^ 
containing the palace of Morzeus, a small town, and a fortress. 

42. Eudoxus, without defining the spot, says, that fossil 
fish 3 are found in Paphlagonia in dry ground, and in marshy 
ground also about the lake Ascanius,'' which is below Cius, 
but he gives no clear information on the subject. 

We have described Paphlagonia bordering upon Pontus; 
and as the Bithynians border upon the Paphlagonians to- 
wards the west, we shall endeavour to describe this region 
also. We shall then set out again from the Bithynians and 
the Paphlagonians, and describe the parts of the country next 
to these nations lying towards the south ; they extend as far 
as the Taurus, and are parallel to Pontus and Cappadocia ; 
for some order and division of this kind are suggested by the 
nature of the places. 



CHAPTER IV. 



1. BiTHYNiA is bounded on the east by the Paphlagonians* 
Mariandyni, and by some tribes of the Epicteti ; on the north 
by the line of the sea-coast of the Euxine, extending from the 
mouth of the Sangarius^ to the straits at Byzantium and Chal- 
cedon ; on the west by the Propontis ; on the south by Mysia 
and Phrygia Epictetus, as it is called, which has the name also 
of Hellespontic Phrygia. 

^ Great-grandson of Dei'otarus I. 

* According to Alexander Polyhistor, the town was built by a goatherd, 
who had found one of his goats straying there, but this is probably a mere 
philological speculation, gangra signifying " a goat" in the Paphlagonian 
language. In ecclesiastical writers it is often mentioned as the metro- 
politan see of Paphlagonia. The orchards of this town were celebrated 
for their apples. Athen. iii.— Smith. 

' Book iv. c. i. § 6. Athen. b. viii. "» Isnik Gol. 

* Sakaria. 



B. xii. c. IV. § 3. BITHYNIA. 315 

2. Here upon the mouth of the Pontus is situated Clial- 
cedon, founded by the Megareans,' the village Chrysopolis, and 
the Chalcedonian temple. In the country a little above the 
sea-coast is a fountain, Azaritia, (Azaretia?) which breeds 
small crocodiles. 

Next follows the coast of the Chalcedonians, the bay of 
Astacus,^ as it is called, which is a part of the Propontis. 

Here Nicomedia^ is situated, bearing the name of one of 
the Bithynian kings by whom it was founded. Many kings 
however have taken the same name, as the Ptolemies, on ac- 
count of the fame of the first person who bore it. 

On the same bay was Astacus a city founded by Megareans 
and Athenians ; it was afterwards again colonized by Doedal- 
sus. The bay had its name from the city. It w^as razed by 
Lysimachus. The founder of Nicomedia transferred its in- 
habitants to the latter city. 

3. There is another bay'* continuous with that of Astacus, 
which advances further towards the east, and where is situ- 
ated Prusias,^ formerly called Cius. Philip, the son of De- 
metrius, and father of Perseus, gave it to Prusias, son of 
Zelas, who had assisted him in destroying both this and 
Myrleia,^ a neighbouring city, and also situated near Prusa. 
He rebuilt them from their ruins, and called the city Cius 
Prusias, after his own name, and Myrleia he called Apameia, 
after that of his wife. This is the Prusias who received 
Hannibal, (who took refuge with him hither after the de- 
feat of Antiochus,) and retired from Phrygia' on the Hel- 
lespont, according to agreement with the Attalici.^ This 
country was formerly called Lesser Phrygia, but by the Atta- 
lici Phrygia Epictetus.^ Above Prusias is a mountain which 
is called Arganthonius.^^ Here is the scene of the fable of 
Hylas, one of the companions of Hercules in the ship Argo, 
who, having disembarked in order to obtain water for the 
vessel, was carried away by nymphs. Cius, as the story 
goes, was a friend and companion of Hercules ; on his return 
from Colchis, he settled there and founded the city which 
bears his name. At the present time a festival called Orei- 

^ B. vii. c. vi. § 2. ' G. of Ismid. ' Ismid or Iskimid. 

* B. of Gemlik. « Brusa. « Mudania. 

^ Livy, xxxviii. 39. * The kings of Pergamus. " The Acquired. 

^0 The ridge of Katerlu Dagh and Samanlu Dagh. 



316 STRABO. Casaub.564. 

basia, is celebrated by the Prusienses, who wander about the 
mountains and woods, a rebel rout, calling on Hylas by name, 
as though in search of him. 

The Prusienses having shown a friendly disposition towards 
the Romans in their administration of public affairs, obtained 
their freedom. But the Apamies were obliged to admit a 
Roman colony. 

Prusa, situated below the Mysian Olympus, on the borders 
of the Phrygians and the Mysians, is a well-governed city ; 
it was founded by Cyrus, ^ who made war against Croesus. 

4. It is difficult to define the boundaries of the Bithynians, 
Mysians, Phrygians, of the Doliones about Cyzicus, and of the _ 
Mygdones and Troes ; it is generally admitted that each of 
these tribes ought to be placed apart from the other. A pro- 
verbial saying is applied to the Phrygians and Mysians, 

" The boundaries of the Mysi and Phryges are apart from one another," 
but it is difficult to define them respectively. The reason is 
this ; strangers who came into the country were soldiers and 
barbarians ; they had no fixed settlement in the country of 
which they obtained possession, but were, for the most part, 
wanderers, expelling others from their territory, and being ex- 
pelled themselves. All these nations might be supposed to be 
Thracians, because Thracians occupy the country on the other 
side, and because they do not differ much from one another. 

5. But as far as we are able to conjecture, we may place 
Mysia between Bithynia and the mouth of the ^sepus, con- 
tiguous to the sea, and nearly along the whole of Olympus. 
Around it, in the interior, is the Epictetus, nowhere reaching 
the sea, and extending as far as the eastern parts of the Asca- 
nian lake and district, for both bear the same name. Part of 
this territory was Phrygian, and part Mysian ; the Phrygian 
was further distant from Troy ; and so we must understand 
the words of the poet^, when he says, 

" Phorcys, and the god-like Ascanius, were the leaders of the Phryges 
far from Ascania," 

that is, the Phrygian Ascania ; for the other, the Mysian 
Ascania, was nearer to the present Nicasa, which he mentions, 
when he says, 

1 In the text, Prusias. The translation follows the suggestion of 
Kramer. 

2 II. ii. 862. 



B. XII. c. IV. § 6, 7. BITHYNIA. 317 

" Palmys, Ascanius, and Morys, sons of Hippotion, the leader of the 
Mysi, fighting in close combat, who came from the fertile soil of Ascania, 
as auxiliaries."* 

It is not then surprising that he should speak of an Asca- 
nius, a leader of the Phrygians, who came from Ascania, and 
of an Ascanius, a leader of the Mysians, coming also from 
Ascania, for there is much repetition of names derived from 
rivers, lakes, and places. 

6. The poet himself assigns the ^sepus as the boundary of 
the Mysians, for after having described the country above 
Ilium, and lying along the foot of the mountains subject to 
^neas, and which he calls Dardania, he places next towards 
the north Lycia, which was subject to Pandarus, and where 
Zeleia ^ was situated ; he says, 

" They who inhabited Zeleia, at the very foot of Ida, Aphneii Trojans, 
who drink of the dark stream of ^sepus ; " ^ 

below Zeleia, towards the sea, on this side"of -^sepus, lies the 
plain of Adrasteia, and Tereia, Pitya, and in general the pre- 
sent district of Cyzicene near Priapus,^ which he afterwards 
describes. He then returns again to the parts towards the east, 
and to those lying above, by which he shows that he con- 
sidered the country as far as the jEsepus the northern and 
eastern boundary of the Troad. Next to the Troad are My- 
sia and Olympus.^ Ancient tradition then suggests some 
such disposition of these nations. But the present changes 
have produced many differences in consequence of the con- 
tinual succession of governors of the country, who confound- 
ed together people and districts, and separated others. The 
Phrygians and Mysians were masters of the country after the 
capture of Troy ; afterwards the Lydians ; then the ^olians 
and lonians ; next, the Persians and Macedonians ; lastly, the 
Romans, under whose government most of the tribes have lost 
even their languages and names, in consequence of a new 
partition of the country having been made. It will be proper 
to take this into consideration when we describe its present 
state, at the same time showing a due regard to antiquity. 

7. In the inland parts of Bithynia is Bithynium,^ situated 
above Tieium,' and to which belongs the country about Salon, 

1 II. xiii. 792. 2 Sarakoi. ' II. ii. 824. 

* Karabogha. . * Keschisch-Dagh. 

* Claudiopolis, now Boli. ' Tilijos. 



318 STRABO. Casaub. 665. 

affording the best pasturage for cattle, whence comes the cheese 
of Salon. Nicsea,^ the capital of Bithynia, is situated on the 
Ascanian lake. It is surrounded by a very large and very 
fertile plain, which in the summer is not very healthy. Its 
first founder was Antigonus, the son of PhiHp, who called it 
Antigonia. It was then rebuilt by Lysiraachus, who changed 
its name to that of his wife Nicaea. She was the daughter of 
Antipater. The city is situated in a plain. Its shape is 
quadrangular, eleven stadia in circuit. It has four gates. Its 
streets are divided at right angles, so that the four gates may 
be seen from a single stone, set up in the middle of the Gym- 
nasium. A little above the Ascanian lake is Otrcea, a small 
town situated just on the borders of Bithynia towards the east. 
It is conjectured that Otroea was so called from Otreus. 

8. That Bithynia was a colony of the Mysians, first Scylax 
of Caryanda will testify, who says that Phrygians and My- 
sians dwell around the Ascanian lake. The next witness is 
Dionysius, who composed a work on " the foundation of cities." 
He says that the straits at Chalcedon, and Byzantium, which 
are now called the Thracian, were formerly called the Mysian 
Bosporus. Some person might allege this as a proof that the 
Mysians were Thracians ; and Euphorio says, 

"by the waters of the Mysian Ascanius ;" 

and thus also Alexander the ^tolian, 

" who have their dwellings near the Ascanian waters, on the margin of the 
Ascanian lake, where Dolion dwelt, the son of Silenus and of Melia." 

These authors testify the same thing, because the Ascanian 
lake is found in no other siuation but this. 

9. Men distinguished for their learning, natives of Bithynia, 
were Xenocrates the philosopher, Dionysius the dialectician, 
Hipparchus, Theodosius and his sons the mathematicians, 
Cleophanes the rhetorician of Myrleia, and Asclepiades the 
physician of Prusa.^ 

' Isnik. The Turkish name is a contraction of elg Ni/catav, as Ismir, 
Smyrna, is a contraction of tig 'Sfivpvtjv, Istambol, Constantinople, of eic 
rfjv iroXiv, Stance, Cos, of dg rr/v Kw. 

'^ Xenocrates, one of the most distinguished disciples of Plato, was of 
Chalcedon. Dionysius the dialectician is probably the same as Dionysius 
of Heracleia, who abandoned the Stoics to join the sect of Epicurus. 
Hipparchus, the first and greatest of Greek astronomers, (b. c. 160 — 145,) 
was of Nicaea. So also was Diophanes, quoted by Varro and Columella, 



B. xii. c. V. ^ 1. GALATIA. 3 1 9 

10. To the south of the Bithynians are the Mysians about 
Olympus (whom some writers call Bithyni Olympeni, and 
others Hellespontii) and Phrygia upon the Hellespont. To the 
south of the Paphlagonians are the Galatians, and still further 
to the south of both these nations are the Greater Phrygia, 
and Lycaonia, extending as far as the Cilician and Pisidian 
Taurus. But since the parts continuous with Paphlagonia ad- 
join Pontus, Cappadocia, and the nations which we have just 
described, it may be proper first to give an account of the 
parts in the neighbourhood of these nations, and then proceed 
to a description of the places next in order. 



CHAPTER V. 



1. To the south of the Paphlagonians are the Galatians, of 
whom there are three tribes ; two of them, the Trocmi and 
the Tolistobogii, have their names from their chiefs ; the third, 
the Tectosages, from the tribe of that name in Celtica. The 
Galatians took possession of this country after wandering about 
for a long period, and overrunning the country subject to the 
Attalic and the Bithynian kings, until they received by a 
voluntary cession the present Galatia, or Gallo-Graecia, as it is 
called. Leonnorius seems to have been the chief leader of these 
people when they passed over into Asia. There were three 
nations that spoke the same language, and in no respect differ- 
ed from one another. Each of them was divided into four 
portions called tetrarchies, and had its own tetrarch, its own 
judge, and one superintendent of the army, all of whom were 
under the control of the tetrarch, and two subordinate super- 

as the abbreviator of the twenty books on Agriculture by Mago, in the 
Punic language. Suidas speaks of Theodosius, a distinguished mathe- 
matician, who, according to Vossius, may be here meant. A treatise of his 
" on Spherics " still exists, and was printed in Paris in 1558. Of Cleo- 
phanes of Myrleia little is known, Strabo mentions also a grammarian, 
Asclepiades of Myrleia, in b. iii. c. iv. § 19. To these great names may be 
added as of Bithynian origin, but subsequent to the time of Strabo, Dion 
Chrysostom, one of the most eminent among Greek rhetoricians and 
sophists; he was born at Nicomedia, and died about a. d. 117. Arrian, 
the author of " India," and the "Anabasis" (the Asiatic expedition) " of 
Alexander," was also born at Nicomedia towards the end of a. d. 100. 



320 



STRABO. Casaub. 567. 



intendents of the army. The Council of the twelve Tetrarchs 
consisted of three hundred persons, who assembled at a place 
called the Dry ne me turn.' The council determined causes rela- 
tive to murder, the others were decided by the tetrarchs and 
the judges. Such, anciently, was the political constitution of 
Galatia ; but, in our time, the government was in the hands of 
three chiefs, then of two, and at last it was administered by 
Deiotarus, who was succeeded by Amyntas. At present, the 
Romans possess this as well as all the country which was sub- 
ject to Amyntas, and have reduced it into one province. 

2. The Trocmi occupy the parts near Pontus and Cappa- 
docia, which are the best which the Galatians possess. They 
have three walled fortresses, Tavium, a mart for the people in 
that quarter, where there is a colossal statue of Jupiter in brass, 
and a grove, which is used as a place of refuge ; Mithridatium, 
which Pompey gave to Bogodiatarus, (Deiotarus?) having 
separated it from the kingdom of Pontus ; and thirdly, Danala^ 
where Pompey, when he was about to leave the country to 
celebrate his triumph, met LucuUus and delivered over to him 
as his successor the command of the war. 

This is the country which the Trocmi possess. 

The Tectosages occupy the parts towards the greater 
Phrygia near Pessinus,^ and the Orcaorci. They had the 
fortress Ancyra,^ of the same name as the small Phrygian 
city towards Lydia near Blaudus.'* The Tolistobogii border 
upon the Bithynians, and Phrygia Epictetus, as it is called. 
They possess the fortresses Blucium, (Luceium,) which was the 
royal seat of Deiotarus, and Peium, which was his treasure-hold. 

3. Pessinus is the largest mart of any in that quarter. It 
contains a temple of the Mother of the Gods, held in the 
highest veneration. The goddess is called Agdistis. The 
priests anciently were a sort of sovereigns, and derived a large 
revenue from their office. At present their consequence is 
much diminished, but the mart still subsists. The sacred 
enclosure was adorned with fitting magnificence by the Attalic 
kings,^ with a temple, and porticos of marble. The Romans 

* Probably a grove. 

' Bala Hissar, to the south of Siwri-Hissar; between these two places 
is Mt. Dindymus, Gunescth-Dagh. 

^ On the west of the lake Simau. * Suleimanli, 

5 The kings of Pergamus. 



B. XII. c. VI. § 1. LYCAONIA. 321 

gave importance to the temple by sending for the statue of the 
goddess from thence according to the oracle of the Sibyl, as 
they had sent for that of Asclepius from Epidaurus. 

The mountain Dindymus is situated above the city; from 
Dindymus comes Dindymene, as from Cybela, Cybele. Near 
it runs the river Sangarius, and on its banks are the ancient 
dwellings of the Phrygians, of Midas, and of Gordius before 
his time, and of some others, which do not preserve the 
vestiges of cities, but are villages a little larger than the rest. 
Such is Gordium,^ and Gorbeus (Gordeus), the royal seat 
of Castor, son of Saocondarius, (Saocondarus ?) in which he 
was put to death by his father-in-law, Deiotarus, who there 
also murdered his own daughter. Deiotarus razed the fortress, 
and destroyed tlie greater part of the settlement. 

4. Next to Galatia towards the south is the lake Tatta,^ 
lying parallel to that part of the Greater Cappadocia which 
is near the Morimeni. It belongs to the Greater Phrygia, as 
well as the country continuous with this, and extending as 
far as the Taurus, and of which Amyntas possessed the great- 
est part. Tatta is a natural salt-pan. The water so readily 
makes a deposit around everything immersed in it, that upon 
letting down wreaths formed of rope, chaplets of salt are drawn 
up. If birds touch the surface of the water with their wings, 
they immediately fall down in consequence of the concretion 
of the salt upon them, and are thus taken. 



CHAPTER VX. 



1. Such is the description of Tatta. The places around 
Orcaorci, Pitnisus and the mountainous plains of Lycaonia, 
are cold and bare, affording pasture only for wild asses ; there 
is a great scarcity of water, but wherever it is found the wells 
are very deep, as at Soatra, where it is even sold. Soatra is 
a village city near Garsabora (Garsaura?). Although the 
country is ill supplied with water, it is surprisingly well 
adapted for feeding sheep, but the wool is coarse. Some 
persons have acquired very great wealth by these flocks alone. 
Amyntas had above three hundred flocks of sheep in these 
1 Juliopolis. 2 Tuz-Tscholli. 

VOL. II. Y 



S22 STRABO. Casaub. 568. 

parts. In this district there are two lakes, the greater Coralis, 
the smaller Trogitis. Somewhere here is Iconium,^ a small 
town, well built, about which is a more fertile tract of land 
than the pastures for the wild asses before mentioned. Polemo 
possessed this place. 

Here the Taurus approaches this country, separating Cap- 
padocia and Lycaonia from Cilicia Tracheia. It is the bound- 
ary of the Lycaonians and Cappadocians, between Coropassus, 
a village of the Lycaonians, and Gareathyra (Garsaura), a 
small town of the Cappadocians. The distance between these 
fortressess is about 120 stadia. 

2. To Lycaonia belongs Isaurica, near the Taurus, in which 
are the Isaura, two villages of the same name, one of which is 
surnamed Palasa, or the Old, the other [the New], the latter is 
well fortified.^ There were many other villages dependent 
upon these. They are all of them, however, the dwellings of 
robbers. They occasioned much trouble to the Romans, and 
to Publius Servilius, surnamed Isauricus, with whom I was 
acquainted ; he subjected these places to the Romans, and 
destroyed also many of the strong-holds of the pirates, situated 
upon the sea. 

3. Derbe,^ the royal seat of the tyrant Antipater, surnamed 
Derbaetes, is on the side of the Isaurian territory close upon 
Cappadocia. Laranda'* also belonged to Antipater. In my 
time Amyntas attacked and killed Antipater Derbaetes, and 
got possession of the Isaura and of Derbe. The Romans 
gave him the Isaura where he built a palace for himself, after 
having destroyed Isauria Palsea (the Old). He began to build 
in the same place a new wall, but before its completion he was 
killed by the Cilicians in an ambuscade, when invading the 
country of the Homonadeis. 

4. For being in possession of Antiocheia near Pisidia, and 
the country as far as Apollonias,^ near Apameia Cibotus,^ some 
parts of the Paroreia, and Lycaonia, he attempted to exter- 
minate the Cilicians and Pisidians, who descended from the 
Taurus and overran this district, which belonged to the 
Phrygians and Cilicians (Lycaonians). He razed also many 

' Konia. ^ Meineke's correction, 

' Its position is uncertain, probably Divle, to the S. of the Lake Ak-Gol. 
See Smith, art. Derbe. 

* Caraman. * Tschol-Abad. * Aphiom Kara Hissar. 



B. XII. c. VII. § 1. PISIDIA. 323 

fortresses, which before this time were considered impregna- 
ble, among which was Cremna, but he did not attempt to take 
by storm Sandalium, situated between Cremna and Saga- 
lassus. 

5. Cremna is occupied by a Roman colony. 

Sagalassus is under the command of the same Roman go- 
vernor, to whom all the kingdom of Amyntas is subject. It 
is distant from Apameia a day's journey, having a descent of 
nearly 30 stadia from the fortress. It has the name also of 
Selgessus. It was taken by Alexander. 

Amyntas made himself master of Cremna and passed into 
the country of the Homonadeis, who were supposed to be the 
most difficult to reduce of all the tribes. He had already got 
into his power most of their strong-holds, and had killed the 
tyrant himself^ when he was taken prisoner by an artifice of 
the wife of the tyrant, whom he had killed, and was put to 
death by the people. Cyrinius (Quirinus)^ reduced them by 
famine and took four thousand men prisoners, whom he settled 
as inhabitants in the neighbouring cities, but he left no per- 
son in the country in the prime of life. 

Among the heights of Taurus, and in the midst of rocks 
and precipices for the most part inaccessible, is a hollow and 
fertile plain divided into several valleys. The inhabitants 
cultivate this plain, but live among the overhanging heights 
of the mountains, or in caves. They are for the most part 
armed, and accustomed to make incursions into the country of 
other tribes, their own being protected by mountains, which 
serve as a wall. 



CHAPTER VII. 



1. Contiguous to these, among other tribes of the Pisidians, 
are the Selgeis, the most considerable tribe of the nation. 

The greater part of the Pisidians occupy the summits of 
Taurus, but some tribes situated above Side^ and Aspen- 

^ Sulpitius Quirinus. The Cyrenius " governor of Syria "in St. Luke. 
Tacitus (Ann. B. iii. c, 48) speaks of his expedition against the Ho- 
monadeis, and Josephus of his arrival in Syria, where he was sent with 
Coponius by Augustus. 

2 Eske-Adatia. 

Y 2 



324 STRABO. Casaub. 570. 

dus,^ which are Pamphylian cities, occupy heights, all of which 
are planted with olives. The parts above these, a mountain- 
ous country, are occupied by the Catennenses, who border upon 
the Selgeis and the Homonadeis. The Sagalasseis occupy 
the parts within the Taurus towards Milyas. 

2. Artemidorus says that Selge, Sagalassus, Petnelissus, 
Adada, Tymbrias, Cremna, Pityassus, (Tityassus ?) Amblada, 
Anabura, Sinda, Aarassus, Tarbassus, Termessus, are cities of 
the Pisidians. Of these some are entirely among the moun- 
tains, others extend on each side even as far as the country at 
the foot of the mountains, and reach to Pamphylia and Milyas, 
and border on Phrygians, Lydians, and Carians, all of whom 
are disposed to peace, although situated to the north.^ 

The Pamphylians, who partake much of the character of 
the Cilician nation, do not altogether abstain from predatory 
enterprises, nor permit the people on the confines to live in 
peace, although they occupy the southern parts of the country 
at the foot of Taurus. 

On the confines of Phrygia and Caria, are Tabae,^ Sinda, 
and Amblada, whence is procured the Amblada wine, which 
is used in diet prescribed for the sick. 

3. All the rest of the mountain tribes of the Pisidians 
whom I have spoken of are divided into states governed by 
tyrants, and follow like the Cilicians a predatory mode of 
life. It is said that anciently some of the Leleges, a wander- 
ing people, were intermixed with them, and from the similar- 
ity of their habits and manners settled there. 

Selge ^ had the rank of a city from the first when founded by 
the Lacedsemonians, but at a still earlier period by Calchas. 
Latterly it has maintained its condition and flourished in con- 
sequence of its excellent constitution and government, so that 
at one time it had a population of 20,000 persons. The place 
deserves admiration from the advantages which nature has 
bestowed upon it. Among the summits of Taurus is a very 
fertile tract capable of maintaining many thousand inhabit- 
ants. Many spots produce the olive and excellent vines, and 
afford abundant pasture for animals of all kinds. Above and 

» Balkesi. 

2 To the north of the chain of Taurus which commenced at the pro- 
montory Trogilium opposite Samos. 

» Tabas. * Surk. 



B. XII. c. Yii. § 3, PISIDIA. 325 

all around are forests containing trees of various sorts. The 
styrax is found here in great abundance, a tree not large but 
straight in its growth. Javelins, similar to those of the 
cornel tree, are made of the wood of this tree. There is bred 
in the trunk of the styrax tree, a worm, which eats through 
the timber to the surface, and throws out raspings like bran, or 
saw-dust, a heap of which is collected at the root. After- 
wards a liquid distils which readily concretes into a mass 
like gum. A part of this liquid descends upon and mixes 
with the raspings at the root of the tree, and with earth ; a 
portion of it acquires consistence on the surface of the mass, 
and remains pure. That portion which flows along the sur- 
face of the trunk of the tree, and concretes, is also pure. A 
mixture is made of the impure part, which is a combination of 
wood-dust and earth ; this has more odour than the pure styrax, 
but is inferior to it in its other properties. This is not com- 
monly known. It is used for incense in large quantities by 
superstitious worshippers of the gods. 

The Selgic iris ^ also, and the unguent which is made from 
it, are in great esteem. There are few approaches about the 
city, and the mountainous country of the Selgeis, which 
abounds with precipices and ravines, formed among other 
rivers by the Eurymedon 2 and the Cestrus,^ which de- 
scend from the Selgic mountains, and discharge themselves 
into the Pamphylian Sea. There are bridges on the roads. 
From the strength and security of their position the Sel- 
geis were never at any time, nor on any single occasion, sub- 
ject to any other people, but enjoyed unmolested the produce 
of their country, with the exception of that part situated be- 
low them in Pamphylia, and that within the Taurus, for which 
they were carrying on a continual warfare with the kings. 

Their position with respect to the Romans was that they 
possessed this tract on certain conditions. They sent ambassa- 
dors to Alexander and offered to receive his commands in the 
character of friends, but at present they are altogether subject 
to the Romans, and are included in what was formerly the 
kingdom of Amyntas. 

' Pliny, b. xv. c. 7, and b. xii. c. 4. ' Kopru-Su. 

3 Ak-Su. 



326 STRABO. Casaub, 571. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

1. The people called Mysians, and Phrygians, who live 
around the so-called Mysian Olympus, border upon the Bi- 
thynians to the south. Each of these nations is divided into 
two parts. One is called the Greater Phrygia, of which 
Midas was king. A part of it was occupied by the Galatians. 
The other is the Lesser, or Phrygia on the Hellespont, or 
Phrygia around Olympus, and is also called Epictetus. 

Mysia is also divided into two parts ; Olympic Mysia, 
which is continuous with Bithynia, and with the Epictetus, 
(which, Artemidorus says, was inhabited by the Mysians be- 
yond the Danube,) and the part around the Caicus,^ and the 
Pergamene ^ as far as Teuthrania, and the mouths of the river. 

2. This country, however, as we have frequently observed, 
has undergone so many changes, that it is uncertain whether 
the district around Sipylus,^ which the ancients called Phrygia, 
were a part of the Greater or the Lesser Phrygia, from whence 
Tantalus, Pelops, and Niobe were called Phrygians. What- 
ever the explanation may be, tlie change is certain. For Per- 
gamene and Elai'tis,"* through which country the Caicus passes, 
and empties itself into the sea, and Teuthrania, situated be- 
tween these two districts, where Teuthras lived, and Tele- 
phus was brought up, lies between the Hellespont, and the 
country about Sipylus, and Magnesia, which is at the foot of 
the mountain, so that, as I have said, it is difficult 

" To assign tlie confines of the Mysians and Phryges." — 

3. The Lydians also, and the Maeones, whom Homer calls 
Meones, are in some way confounded with these people 
and with one another ; some authors say that they are the 
same, others that they are different, nations. Add to this that 
some writers regard the Mysians as Thracians, others as Ly- 
dians, according to an ancient tradition, which has been pre- 
served by Xanthus the Lydian, and by Menecrates of Elaea, 
who assign as the origin of the name Mysians, that the 
Lydians call the beech-tree (Oxya) Mysos, which grows in 
great abundance near Olympus, where it is said deci- 
mated persons^ were exposed, whose descendants are the 

^ Bakyr-Tschai. " fhe district around Bergama. ^ Sipuli-Dagh. 

* The district between Bergama and the sea. 

5 Protheiis, who had led the Magnetes to Troy, upon his return from 



B. XII. c. Till. § 4. MYSIA AND PHRYGIA. 327 

later Mysians, and received their appellation from the Mysos, 
or beech-tree growing in that country. The language also is 
an evidence of this. It is a mixture of Lydian and Phrygian 
words, for they lived some time in the neighbourhood of 
Olympus. But when the Phrygians passed over from Thrace, 
and put to death the chief of Troy and of the country near 
it, they settled here, but the Mysians established themselves 
above the sources of the Caicus near Lydia. 

4. The confusion which has existed among the nations in 
this district, and even the fertility of the country within the 
Halys, particularly near the sea, have contributed to the in- 
vention of fables of this sort. The richness of the country 
provoked attacks, from various quarters, and at all times, of 
tribes who came from the opposite coast, or neighbouring 
people contended with one another for the possession of it. 
Inroads and migrations took place chiefly about the period 
of the Trojan war, and subsequently to that time, Barbarians 
as well as Greeks showing an eagerness to get possession of 
the territory of other nations. This disposition, however, 
showed itself before the time of the Trojan war ; for there 
existed then tribes of Pelasgi, Caucones, and Leleges, who are 
said to have wandered, anciently, over various parts of Europe. 
The poet represents them as assisting the Trojans, but not as 
coming from the opposite coast. - The accounts respecting the 
Phrygians and the Mysians are more ancient than the Trojan 
times. 

Two tribes bearing the name of Lycians, lead us to suppose 
that they are the same race ; either the Trojan Lycians sent 
colonies to the Carians, or the Carian Lycians to the Trojans. 
Perhaps the same may be the case with the Cilicians, for they 
also are divided into two tribes ; but we have not the same 
evidence that the present Cilicians existed before the Trojan 
times. Telephus may be supposed to have come with his 
mother from Arcadia ; by her marriage with Teuthras, (who 
had received them as his guests,) Telephus was admitted into the 

that expedition, and in compliance with a vow which he had made to 
Apollo, selected every tenth man and sent them to the temple at Delphi. 
These Magnetes, for some reason, abandoned the temple and embarked 
for Crete ; from thence they passed into Asia, accompanied by some 
Cretans, and founded Magnesia near the Mseander, B. xiv. c. i. § 11. 



328 STRABO. Casaub. 572. 

family of Teuthras, was reputed to be his son, and succeeded 
to the kingdom of the Mysians. 

5. " The Carians, who were formerly islanders, and Le- 
leges," it is said, " settled on the continent with the assistance 
of the Cretans. They built Miletus, of which the founder was 
Sarpedon from Miletus in Crete. They settled the colony 
of Termilae in the present Lycia, but, according to Herodotus,^ 
these people were a colony from Crete under the conduct of 
Sarpedon, brother of Minos and Rhadamanthus, who gave the 
name of Termilae to the people formerly called Milyae, and 
still more anciently Solymi ; when, however, Lycus the son of 
Pandion arrived, he called them Lycii after his own name." 
This account shows that the Solymi and Lycians were the 
same people, but the poet distinguishes them. He represents 
Bellerophon setting out from Lycia, and 

" fighting with the renowned Solymi." ^ 
He says Peisander (Isander ?), his son. Mars 

" slew when fighting with the Solymi,"' 
and speaks of Sarpedon as a native of Lycia.^ 

6. That the common prize, proposed to be obtained by the 
conquerors, was the fertile country which I am describing, is 
confirmed by many circumstances which happened both be- 
fore and after the Trojan times. When even the Amazons 
ventured to invade it, Priam and Bellerophon are said to have 
undertaken an expedition against these women. Anciently 
there were cities which bore the names of the Amazons. In 
the Ilian plain there is a hill 

"which men call Batieia, but the immortals, the tomb of tlie bounding 
{rroXvaKapOfioio) Myrina," 

who, according to historians, was one of the Amazons, and 
they found this conjecture on the epithet, for horses are said 
to be EvaKapQiioL on account of their speed ; and she was called 
iiokvaKapQfxoQ from the rapidity with which she drove the 
chariot. Myrina therefore, the place, was named after the 
Amazon. In the same manner the neighbouring islands 
were invaded on account of their fertility ; among which were 
Rhodes and Cos. That they were inhabited before the Tro- 
jan times clearly appears from the testimony of Horner.^ 
1 Herod, i. 173 ; vii. 92. « II. vi. 184. 3 n. ^,-^^ 204. 

* II. vi. 199. * II. ii. 655, 677. 



B. XII. c. Tin. $7, 8. MYSIA AND PHRYGIA. 829 

7. After the Trojan times, the migrations of Greeks and 
of Treres, the inroads of Cimmerians and Lydians, after- 
wards of Persians and Macedonians, and lastly of Gala- 
tians, threw everything into confusion. An obscurity arose 
not from these changes only, but from the disagreement be- 
tween authors in their narration of the same events, and in 
their description of the same persons ; for they called Trojans 
Phrygians, like the Tragic poets ; and Lycians Carians, and 
similarly in other instances. The Trojans who, from a small 
beginning, increased so much in power that they became kings 
of kings, furnished a motive to the poet and his interpret- 
ers, for determining what country ought to be called Troy. 
For the poet calls by the common name of Trojans all their 
auxiliaries, as he calls their enemies Danai and Achaei. But 
certainly we should not give the name of Troy to Paphla- 
gonia, or to Caria, or to Lycia, which borders upon it. I 
m£an when the poet says, 

" the Trojans advanced with the clashing of armour and shouts," ' 
and where he speaks of their enemies, 

"but the Achaei advanced silently, breathing forth warlike ardour,"^ 
and thus frequently in other passages. 

We must endeavour, however, to distinguish as far as we are 
able one nation from another, notwithstanding this uncer- 
tainty. If anything relative to ancient history escapes my 
notice, it must be pardoned, for this is not the province of 
the geographer; my concern is with the present state of 
people and places. 

8. There are two mountains situated above the Propontis, 
the Mysian Olympus^ and Ida.'* At the foot of Olympus is 
Bithynia, and, contiguous to the mountain, between Ida and 
the sea, is Troy. 

We shall afterwards speak of Troy, and of the places con- 
tinuous with it on the south. At present we shall give an 
account of the places about Olympus, and of the adjoining 
country as far as the Taurus, and parallel to the parts which 
we have previously described. 

The country lying around Olympus is not well inhabited. 
On its heights are immense forests and strongholds, well adapt- 

> II. iii. 2. » II. iii. 8. ' Keschisch Dagh. 

* Kas-Dagh. 



330 STRABO. Casaub. 574. 

ed for the protection of robbers, who, being able to maintain 
themselves there for any length of time, often set themselves 
up as tyrants, as Cleon a captain of a band of robbers did in 
my recollection. 

9. Cleon was a native of the village Gordium, which he 
afterwards enlarged, and erected into a city, giving it the 
name of Juliopolis. His first retreat and head-quarters was 
a place called Callydium, one of the strongest holds. He was 
of service to Antony in attacking the soldiers who collected 
money for Labienus, at the time that the latter occupied Asia, 
and thus hindered the preparations which he was making for 
his defence. In the Actian war he separated himself from 
Antony and attached himself to the generals of Caesar ; he 
was rewarded above his deserts, for in addition to what he re- 
ceived from Antony he obtained power from Csesar, and ex- 
changed the character of a freebooter for that of a petty 
prince. He was priest of Jupiter Abrettenus, the Mysian 
god, and a portion of the Morena was subject to him, which, 
like Abrettena, is Mysian. He finally obtained the priest- 
hood of Comana in Pontus, and went to take possession of it, 
but died within a month after his arrival. He was carried 
off by an acute disease, occasioned either by excessive repletion, 
or, according to the 'account of those employed about the 
temple, intlicted by the anger of the goddess. The story is 
this. Within the circuit of the sacred enclosure is the dwelling 
of the priest and priestess. Besides other sacred observances 
relative to the temple, the purity of this enclosure is an 
especial object of vigilance, by abstinence from eating swine's 
flesh. The whole city, indeed, is bound to abstain from this 
food, and swine are not permitted to enter it. Cleon, however, 
immediately upon his arrival displayed his lawless disposition 
and character by violating this custom, as if he had come 
there not as a priest, but a polluter of sacred things. 

10. The description of Olympus is as follows. Around 
it, to the north, live Bithynians, Mygdonians, and Doli- 
ones ; the rest is occupied by Mysians and Epicteti. The 
tribes about Cyzicus ^ from ^sepus^ as far as Rhyndacus^ and 
the lake Dascylitis,^ are called for the most part Doliones ; 
those next to the Doliones, and extending as far as the terri- 
tory of the Myrleani,^ are called Mygdones. Above the 
* Artaki. ^ Satal-dere ? ^ Mualitsch-Tschai. * laskili. ^ Mudania. 



B. XII. c. Till. § 11. MYSIA AND PHRYGIA. 331 

Dascylitis are two large lakes, the Apolloniatis,^ and the Mile- 
topolitis.^ Near the Dascylitis is the city Dascyliura, and on 
the Miletopolitis, Miletopolis. Near a third lake is ApoUonia 
on the Rhyndacus, as it is called. Most of these places belong 
at present to the Cyziceni. 

11. Cyzicus is an island^ in the Propontis, joined to the con- 
tinent by two bridges. It is exceedingly fertile. It is about 
500 stadia in circumference. There is a city of the same 
name near the bridges, with two close harbours, and more 
than two hundred docks for vessels. One part of the city is 
in a plain, the other near the mountain which is called 
Arcton-oros (or Bear-mountain). Above this is another 
mountain, the Dindymus, with one peak, having on it a temple 
founded by the Argonauts in honour of Dindymene, mother of 
the gods. This city rivals in size, beauty, and in the ex- 
cellent administration of affairs, both in peace and war, the 
cities which hold the first rank in Asia. It appears to be 
embellished in a manner similar to Rhodes, Massalia,"* and 
ancient Carthage. I omit many details. There are three 
architects, to whom is intrusted the care of the public edifices 
and engines. The city has also three store-houses, one for 
arms, one for engines, and one for corn. The Chalcidic earth 
mixed with the corn prevents it from spoiling. The utility 
of preserving it in this manner was proved in the Mithridatic 
war. The king attacked the city unexpectedly with an army of 
150,000 men and a large body of cavalry, and made himself 
master of the opposite hill, which is called the hill of Adras- 
teia, and of the suburb. He afterwards transferred his camp 
to the neck of land above the city, blockaded it by land, and 
attacked it by sea with four hundred ships. The Cyziceni 
resisted all these attempts, and were even nearly capturing 
the king in a subterraneous passage, by working a counter- 
mine. He was, however, apprized of it, and escaped by re- 
treating in time out of the excavation. LucuUus, the Roman 
general, was able, though late, to send succours into the city 
by night. Famine also came to the aid of the Cyziceni by 
spreading among this large army. The king did not foresee 
this, and after losing great numbers of his men went away. 

• Loubadi. 2 Manijas. 

' According to Pliny, b. v. c. 32, it was united to the mainland by 
Alexander. * Marseilles. 



332 STRABO. Casaub. 576. 

The Romans respected the city, and to this present time it en- 
joys freedom. A large territory belong-s to it, some part of 
which it has held from the earliest times ; the rest was a gift 
of the Romans. Of the Troad they possess the parts beyond 
the ^sepus, namely, those about Zeleia and the plain of Adras- 
teia ; a part of the lake Dascylitis belongs to them, the other part 
belongs to the Byzantines. They also possess a large district near 
the Dolionis, and the Mygdonis, extending as far as the lake 
Miletopolitis, and the Apolloniatis. Through these countries 
runs the river Rhyndacus, which has its source in the Azanitis. 
Having received from Mysia Abrettene, among other rivers, 
the Macestus,^ which comes from Ancyra^ in the Abaeitis, 
it empties itself into the Propontis at the island Besbicus.^ 

In this island of the Cyziceni is the mountain Artace, well 
wooded, and in front of it lies a small island of the same name ; 
near it is the promontory Melas (or Black), as it is called, 
which is met with in coasting from Cyzicus to Priapus.'^ 

12. To Phrygian Epictetus belong the Azani, and the cities 
Nacoleia, Cotiaeium,^ Midiaeium, Dorylasum,^ and Cadi.'^ Some 
persons assign Cadi to Mysia. 

Mysia extends in the inland parts from Olympene to Perga- 
mene, and to the plain of Caicus, as it is called ; so that it lies 
between Ida and the Catacecaumene, which some place in 
Mysia, others in Masonia. 

13. Beyond the Epictetus to the south is the Greater Phry- 
gia, leaving on the left Pessinus, and the parts about Orcaorci, 
and Lycaonia, and on the right Maeones, Lydians, and Carians. 
In the Epictetus are Phrygia Paroreia, and the country to- 
wards Pisidia, and the parts about Amorium,^ Eumeneia,^ and 
Synnada.^^ Next are Apameia Cibotus,^' and Laodiceia,*^ the 
largest cities in Phrygia. Around them lie the towns [and 
places], Aphrodisias, ^^ Colossae,^'* Themisonium, ^^ Sanaus, 
Metropolis, ^6 Apollonias, and farther off than these, Peltae, 
Tabeae, Eucarpia, and Lysias. 

14. The Paroreia^' has a mountainous ridge extending from 
east to west. Below it on either side stretches a large plain, 

* Simau-Su. ^ Simau-Gol. ^ Imrali, or Kalo-limno. 

* Karabogher. ^ Kiutahia. « Eski-Schehr. 
^ Gedis. ' Hergan Kaleh. * Ischekli. 

*• Afium-Karahissar. " Dinear. " lorghan-Ladik. '^ Geira. 
'* Destroyed by an earthquake in the time of Nero, afterwards Konos. 
" Teseni. '« Ballyk. " Sultan Dagh. 



B. XII. c. Yiii. §■ 15. PHRYGIA. 833 

cities are situated near the ridge, on the north side, Philome- 
lium,^ on the south Antiocheia, surnamed Near Pisidia.^ 
The former lies entirely in the plain, the other is on a hill, 
and occupied by a Roman colony. This was founded by the 
Magnetes, who live near the Maeander. The Romans liberated 
them from the dominion of the kings, when they delivered up 
the rest of Asia within the Taurus to Eumenes. In this place 
was established a priesthood of Men Arcaeus, having attached 
to it a multitude of sacred attendants, and tracts of sacred 
territory. It was abolished after the death of Amyntas by 
those who were sent to settle the succession to his kingdom. 

Synnada is not a large city. In front of it is a plain planted 
with olives, about 60 stadia in extent. Beyond is Docimia, a 
village, and the quarry of the Synnadic marble. This is the 
name given to it by the Romans, but the people of the country 
call it Docimite and Docimasan. At first the quarry produced 
small masses, but at present, through the extravagance of the 
Romans, pillars are obtained, consisting of a single stone and 
of great size, approaching the alabastrite marble in variety 
of colours ; although the distant carriage of such heavy loads 
to the sea is difficult, yet both pillars and slabs of surprising 
magnitude and beauty are conveyed to Rome. 

15. Apameia is a large mart of Asia, properly so called, 
and second in rank to Ephesus, for it is the common staple for 
merchandise brought from Italy and from Greece. It is 
built upon the mouth of the river Marsyas, which runs through 
the middle of it, and has its commencement above the city ; 
being carried down to the suburb with a strong and precipit- 
ous current, it enters the Maeander,^ which receives also an- 
other river, the Orgas, and traverses a level tract with a gentle 
and unruffled stream. Here the Maeander becomes a large 
river, and flows for some time through Phrygia ; it then 
separates Caria and Lydia at the plain, as it is called, of the 
Maeander, running in a direction excessively tortuous, so that 
from the course of this river all windings are called Maeanders. 
Towards its termination it runs through the part of Caria 
occupied by the lonians ; the mouths by which it empties it- 
self are between Miletus and Priene.* It rises in a hill called 
Celagnae, on which was a city of the same name. Antiochus 

J Ak Schehr. ^ lalobatsch. ^ Mender Tsehai. 

* Samsun. 



334 STRABO. Casaub. 578. 

Soter transferred the inhabitants to the present Apameia, and 
called the city after his mother Apama^ who was the daughter 
of Artabazus. She was given in marriage to Seleucus Nica- 
tor. Here is laid the scene of the fable of Olympus and 
Marsyas, and of the contest between Marsyas and Apollo. 
Above is situated a lake ^ on which grows a reed, which is 
suited to the mouth-pieces of pipes. From this lake, it is said, 
spring the Marsyas and the Maeander. 

16. Laodiceia,^ formerly a small town, has increased in our 
time, and in that of our ancestors, although it received great 
injury when it was besieged by Mithridates Eupatorj the 
fertility however of the soil and the prosperity of some of its 
citizens have aggrandized it. First, Hiero embellished the city 
with many offerings, and bequeathed to the people more than 
2000 talents ; then Zeno the rhetorician, and his son Polemo, 
were au ornament and support to it ; the latter was thought 
by Antony, and afterwards by Augustus Cassar, worthy even 
of tlie rank of king in consequence of his valiant and upright 
conduct. 

The country around L'aodiceia breeds excellent sheep, re- 
markable not only for the softness of their wool, in which they 
surpass the Milesian flocks, but for their dark or raven co- 
lour. The Laodiceans derive a large revenue from them, as 
the Colosseni do from their flocks, of a colour of the same 
name. 

Here the Caprus and the Lycus, a large river, enter the 
Maeander. From the Lycus, a considerable river, Laodiceia has 
the name of Laodiceia on the Lycus. Above the city is the 
mountain Cadmus, from which the Lycus issues, and another 
river of the same name as the mountain. The greater part of 
its course is under-ground ; it then emerges, and unites with 
other rivers, showing that the country abounds with caverns 
and is liable to earthquakes. For of all countries Laodi- 
ceia is very subject to earthquakes, as also the neighbouring 
district Carura. 

17. Carura^ is the boundary of Phrygia and Caria. It is 

' The lake above Celsenae bore the name of Aulocrene or Pipe Foun- 
tain, probably from the reeds which grew there. Pliny, b. v. c. 29. 

^ Urumluk. 

' The place is identified, by the hot springs about 12 miles from De- 
nizli or Jenidscheh, 



B. XII. c. VIII. § 18. PHRYGIA. 335 

a village, where there are inns for the reception of travellers, 
and springs of boiling water, some of which rise in the river 
Maeander, and others on its banks. There is a story, that a 
pimp had lodgings in the inns for a great company of women, 
and that during the night he and all the women were over- 
whelmed by an earthquake and disappeared. Nearly the 
whole of the country about the Maeander, as far as the inland 
parts, is subject to earthquakes, and is undermined by fire and 
water. For all this cavernous condition of the country, be- 
ginning from the plains, extends to the Charonia ; it exists like- 
wise in Hierapolis, and in Acharaca in the district Nysaeis, also 
in the plain of Magnesia, and in Myus. The soil is dry and 
easily reduced to powder, full of salts, and very inflammable. 
This perhaps is the reason why the course of the Maeander is 
winding, for the stream is diverted in many places from its 
direction, and brings down a great quantity of alluvial soil, 
some part of which it deposits in various places along the 
shore, and forcing the rest forwards occasions it to drift into 
the open sea. It has made, for example, Priene, which was 
formerly upon the sea, an inland city, by the deposition of 
banks of alluvial earth along an extent of 40 stadia. 

18. Phrygia Catacecauraene, (or the Burnt,) which is oc- 
cupied by Lydians and Mysians, obtained this name from some- 
thing of the following kind. In Philadelphia,^ a city adjoining 
to it, even the walls of the houses are not safe, for nearly every 
day they are shaken, and crevices appear. The inhabitants 
are constantly attentive to these accidents to which the ground 
is subject, and build with a view to their occurrence. 

Apameia among other cities experienced, before the invasion 
of Mithridates, frequent earthquakes, and the king, on his 
arrival, when he saw the overthrow of the city, gave a hun- 
dred talents for its restoration. It is said that the same thing 
happened in the time of Alexander ; for this reason it is prob- 
able that Neptune is worshipped there, although they are an 
inland people, and that it had the name of Celaenae from Celae- 
nus,^ the son of Neptune, by Celaeno, one of the Danai'des, or 
from the black colour of the stones, or from the blackness 
which is the effect of combustion. What is related of Sipylus 
and its overthrow is not to be regarded as a fable. For earth- 
quakes overthrew the present Magnesia, which is situated 
» Ala Schehr. 2 xhe Black. 



336 STRABO. Casaub. 679. 

below that mountain, at the time that Sardis and other cele- 
brated cities in various parts sustained great injury.* The 
emperor^ gave a sum of money for their restoration, as for- 
merly his father had assisted the Tralliani on the occurrence of 
a similar calamity, when the gymnasium and other parts of 
the city were destroyed ; in the same manner he had assisted 
also the Laodiceans. 

19. We must listen, however, to the ancient historians, and 
to the account of Xanthus, who composed a history of Lydian 
affairs ; he relates the changes which had frequently taken place 
in this country,— I have mentioned them in a former part of my 
work.3 Here is laid the scene of the fable of what befell Ty- 
phon ; here are placed the Arimi, and this country is said to be 
the Catacecaumene. Nor do historians hesitate to suppose, that 
the places between the Maeander and the Lydians are all of 
this nature, as well on account of the number of lakes and 
rivers, as the caverns, which are to be found in many parts of 
the country. The waters of the lake between Laodiceia and 
Apameia, although like a sea, emit a muddy smell, as if they 
had come through a subterraneous channel. It is said that 
actions are brought against the Maeander for transferring land 
from one place to another by sweeping away the angles of the 
windings, and a fine is levied out of the toll, which is paid at 
the ferries. 

20. Between Laodiceia and Carura is a temple of Men 
Carus, which is held in great veneration. In our time there 
was a large Herophilian "* school of medicine under the direc- 
tion of Zeuxis,^ and afterwards of Alexander Philalethes, as 
in the time of our ancestors there was, at Smyrna, a school of 

* The number of cities destroyed were twelve, and th.e catastrophe took 
place in the night. An inscription relating to this event is still preserved 
at Naples. Tacit. Ann. B. ii. c. 47. Sueton. in V. Tiberii. 

* Tiberius, the adopted son of Augustus. 
3 B. i. c. iii. § 4. 

'• Herophilus, a celebrated physician, and contemporary of Erasistratus. 
He was one of the first founders of the medical school in Alexandria, and 
whose fame afterwards surpassed that of all others. He lived in the 4th 
and 3rd centuries b. c. 

* Zeuxis was the author of a commentary on Hippocrates: it is now 
lost ; even in the time of Galen, about a. d. 150, it was rare. Alexander 
Philalethes, who succeeded Zeuxis, had as his pupil and probably suc- 
cessor Demosthenes Philalethes, who was the author of a treatise on the 
eyes, which was still in existence in the 14th century. 



B. XII. c. viri. § 21. PHRYGIA. ' 337 

the disciples of Erasistratus under the conduct of Hicesius. 
At present there is nothing of this kind. 

21. The names of some Phrygian tribes, as the Berecyntes 
[and Cerbesii], are mentioned, which no longer exist. And 
Alcman says, 

*' He played the Cerbesian, a Phrygian air." 
They speak also of a Cerbesian pit which sends forth destruc- 
tive exhalations ; this however exists, but the people have no 
longer the name of Cerbesii. ^schylus in his Niobe^ con- 
founds them ; Niobe says that she shall remember Tantalus, 
and his story ; 

" those who have an altar of Jupiter, their paternal god, on the Idaean 
hill," 

and again ; 

" Sipylus in the Idaean land,'* 

— and Tantalus says, 

** I sow the furrows of the Berecynthian fields, extending twelve days' 
journey, where the seat of Adrasteia and Ida resound with the lowing of 
herds and the bleating of sheep ; all tj^e plain re-echoes with their cries." 

' The Niobe, a lost tragedy of Sophocles, is often quoted ; this is pro- 
bably here meant. 



BOOK XIII. 
ASIA, 



The Thirteenth Book contains the part of Asia south of the Propontis (Sea 
of Marmara), the whole of the sea-coast, and the adjacent islands. The 
author dwells some time on Troy, though deserted, on account of its dis- 
tinction, and the great renown it derived from the war. 

CHAPTER I. 

1. These are the limits of Phrygia. We return again to 
the Propontis, and to the sea-coast adjoining the ^sepus,* 
and shall observe, in our description of places, the same order 
as before. 

The first country which presents itself on the sea-coast is 
the Troad.2 Although it is deserted, and covered with ruins, 
yet it is so celebrated as to furnish a writer with no ordinary 
excuse for expatiating on its history. But we ought not only 
to be excused, but encouraged, for the reader should not im- 
pute the fault of prohxity to us, but to those whose curiosity 
and desire of information respecting the celebrated places of 
antiquity is to be gratified. The prolixity is greater than it 
would be otherwise, from the great number of nations, both 
Greeks and Barbarians, who have occupied the country, and 
from the disagreement among writers, who do not relate the 
same things of the same persons and places, nor even do they 
express themselves with clearness. Among these in particular 
is Homer, who suggests occasions for conjecture in the great- 
est part of his local descriptions. We are therefore to ex- 
amine what the poet and other writers advance, premising a 
summary description of the nature of the places. 

2. The coast of the Propontis extends from Cyzicene and 
the places about the ^sepus and Granicus^ as far as Abydos, 

' Satal-dere. 

' The Troad is called Biga by the Turks, from the name of a town 
which now commands that district. Biga is the ancient Sidene. 
' Kodscha-Tschai. Oustvola. Gossellin. 



B. XIII. c. I. § 3. THE TROAD. ^39 

and Sestos.^ Between Abydos and Lectum ^ is the country 
about Ilium, and Tenedos and Alexandreia Troa.s.^ Above 
all these is the mountain Ida, extending as far as Lectum. 
From Lectum to the river Ca'icus ^ and the Canas mountains 
as they are called is the district comprising Assus,^ Adramyt- 
tium,^ Atarneus,^ Pitane,^ and the Elaitic bay, opposite to all 
which places lies the island Lesbos.^ Next follows the coun- 
try about Cyme^^ as far as Hermus,^* and Phociea,^^ where 
Ionia begins, and ^olis terminates. Such then is the nature 
of the country. 

The poet implies that it was the Trojans chiefly who were 
divided into eight or even nine bodies of people, each form- 
ing a petty princedom, who had under their sway the places 
about JEsepus, and those about the territory of the present 
Cyzicene, as far as the river Ca'icus. The troops of auxiliaries 
are reckoned among the allies. 

3. The writers subsequent to Homer do not assign the 
same boundaries, but introduce other names, and a greater 
number of territorial divisions. The Greek colonies were the 
cause of this ; the Ionian migration produced less change, 
for it was further distant from the Troad, but the ^olian 
colonists occasioned it throughout, for they were dispersed 
over the whole of the country from Cyzicene as far as 
the Caicus, and occupied besides the district between the 
Caicus and the river Hermus. It is said that the ^olian 
preceded the Ionian migration four generations, but it was at- 
tended with delays, and the settlement of the colonies took up 
a longer time. Orestes was the leader of the colonists, and 
died in Arcadia. He was preceded by his son Penthilus, 
who advanced as far as Thrace, sixty years ^^ after the Trojan 

' The ruins of Abydos are on the eastern side of the Hellespont, near a 
point called Nagara. Sestos, of which the ruins also exist, called Zeme- 
nic, are on the opposite coast. ^ Baba Kalessi. 

3 Eski Siamboul, or Old Constantinople. 

* Bakir-Tschai, or Germasti. * Beiram-koi, or Asso, or Adschane. 
« Edremid or Adramytti. ' Dikeli-koi. * Tschandarlik. 

• Mytilene. "» Lamurt-koi. " Gedis-Tschai. 
" Karadscha-Fokia. 

" The return of the Heracleidse having taken place, according to Thu- 
cydides and other writers, eighty years after the capture of Troy, some 
critics have imagined that the text of Strabo in this passage should be 
changed from i^r\KovTa trecn, sixty years, to dySorjKovra er«(Ti, eighty years. 

z 2 



340 STRABO. CASArB. 582. 

war, about the time of the return of the Heracleidae to Pelo- 
ponnesus. Then Archelaus the son of Penthilus conducted 
the j^Lolian colonies across the sea to the present Cyzicene, 
near Dascylium. Gras his youngest son proceeded as far as 
the river Granicus, and, being provided with better means, 
transported the greater part of those who composed the expe- 
dition to Lesbos, and took possession of it. 

On the other side, Cleuas, the son of Dorus, and Malaus, 
who were descendants of Agamemnon, assembled a body of 
men for an expedition about the same time as Penthilus, but 
the band of Penthilus passed over from Thrace into Asia be- 
fore them ; while the rest consumed much time near Locris, 
and the mountain Phricius. At last however they crossed the 
sea, and founded Cyme, to which they gave the name of Phri- 
conis, from Phricius, the Locrian mountain. 

4. The ^Eolians then were dispersed over the whole coun- 
try, which we have said the poet calls the Trojan country. 
Later writers give this name to the whole, and others to a part, 
of ^olis ; and so, with respect to Troja, some writers under- 
stand the whole, others only a part, of that country, not entire- 
ly agreeing with one another in anything. 

According to Homer, the commencement of the Troad is at 
the places on the Propontis, reckoning it from the -3i^sepus. 
According to Eudoxus, it begins from Priapus, and Artace, 
situated in the island of the Cyziceni opposite to Priapus, and 
thus he contracts the boundaries [of the Troad]. Damastes 
contracts them still more by reckoning its commencement 
from Parium.i He extends the Troad as far as Lectum. But 
different writers assign different limits to this country. 
Charon of Lampsacus diminishes its extent by three hundred 
stadia more, by reckoning its commencement from Practius, 
for this is the distance between Parium and Practius, but 
protracts it to Adramyttium. It begins, according to Scylax 
of Gary an da, at Abydos. There is the same diversity of 

Thucydides, in the same chapter, and in the space of a few lines, speaks of 
the return of the Boeotians to their own country, as having taken place 
sixty years after the capture of Troy; and of the return of the Heracleidae 
to the Peloponnesus, as having taken place eighty years after the same 
event ; it is probable that Strabo, who followed Thucydides, substituted, 
through inattention, one number for another. 

* Kamaraes, or Kemer. (Kamar, Arab, the Moon.) 



B. XIII. c. I. § 5. THE TROAD. 341 

opinion respecting the boundaries of JEoXis. Ephorus reckons 
its extent from Abydos to Cyme, but different writers compute 
it in different ways. 

5. The situation of the country actually called Trojais best 
marked by the position of Ida, a lofty mountain, looking to the 
west, and to the western sea, but making a slight bend to the 
north and towards the northern coast. This latter is the coast 
of the Propontis, extending from the straits near Abydos to 
the ^sepus, and to the territory of Cyzicene. The western 
sea is the exterior (part of the) Hellespont, and the JEgaean 
Sea. 

Ida has many projecting parts like feet, and resembles in 
figure a tarantula, and is bounded by the following extreme 
points, namely, the promontory^ at Zeleia, and that called Lec- 
tum ; the former terminates in the inland parts a little above 
Cyzicene (to the Cyziceni belongs the present Zeleia), and Lec- 
tum projects into the ^gaean Sea, and is met with in the coast- 
ing voyage from Tenedos to Lesbos* 

"They (namely, Somnus and Juno) came, says Homer, to Ida, abound- 
ing with springs, the nurse of wiid beasts, to Lectum where first they 
left the Siea," ^ 

where the poet describes Lectum in appropriate terms, for he 
says correctly that Lectum is a part of Ida, and that this was 
the first place of disembarkation for persons intending to 
ascend Mount Ida.^ [He is exact in the epithet " abounding 
with springs ; " for the mountain, especially in that part, has 
a very large supply of water, which appears from the great 
number of rivers which issue from it ; 

" all the rivers which rise in Ida, and proceed to the sea, the Rhesus, and 
Heptaporus," * 

and others, which he mentions afterwards, and which are now 
to be seen by us.") 

In speaking of the projections like feet on each side of 
Ida, as Lectum, and Zeleia,^ he distinguishes in proper terms 

* Near Mussatsch-Koi. 2 ii_ xiv. 283. 

' The passage in brackets Meineke suspects to be an interpolation, as 
Rhesus and Heptaporus cannot be placed in this part of Ida, nor do any 
of the streams mentioned by Homer in the same passage flow into the 
^gean Sea, 

* II. xii 19. » II. ii. 824. 



342 STRABO. Casaub. 584- 

the summit Gargarum,^ calling it the top^ (of Ida), for there 
is now in exist ence in the higher parts of Ida a place, from 
which the present Gargara, an ^olian city, has its name. 
Between Zeleia and Lectura, proceeding from the Propontis, are 
first the parts extending to the straits at Abydos. Then the 
parts below the Propontis, extending as far as Lectum. 

6. On doubling Lectum a large bay opens,^ formed by 
Mount Ida, which recedes from Lectum, and by Canae, the 
promontory opposite to Lectum on the other side. Some per- 
sons call it the Bay of Ida, others the Bay of Adramyttium. 
On this bay are situated the cities of the ^olians, extend- 
ing, as we have said, to the mouths of the Hermus. I have 
mentioned also in a former part of my work, that in sailing 
from Byzantium in a straight line towards the south, we first 
arrive at Sestos and Abydos through the middle of the Pro- 
pontis ; then at the sea-coast of Asia as far as Caria. The 
readers of this work ought to attend to the following observ- 
ation ; although we mention certain bays on this coast, they 
must understand the promontories also which form them, 
situated on the same meridian.* 

7. Those who have paid particular attention to this sub- 
ject conjecture, from the expressions of the poet, that all 
this coast was subject to the Trojans, when it was divided 
into nine dynasties, but that at the time of the war it was 
under the sway of Priam, and called Troja. This appears 
from the detail. Achilles and his army perceiving, at the be- 
ginning of the war, that the inhabitants of Ilium were de- 
fended by walls, carried on the war beyond them, made a cir- 
cuit, and took the places about the country ; 

** 1 sacked with my ships twelve cities, and eleven in the fruitful land of 
Troja." 5 

' The whole range of Ida now bears various names : the highest sum- 
mit is called Kas-dagh. Gossellin says that the range is called Kara- 
dagh, but this name (black mountain) like Kara-su (Black river) and 
Kara-Koi (Black village) are so commonly applied that they amount to 
no distinction ; in more modern maps this name does not appear. It may 
be here observed that the confusion of names of those parts in the Turkish 
empire which were formerly under the Greeks, arises from the use of 
names in both languages. ^ II. xiv. 292. 

^ The Gulf of Edremid or Jalea, the ancient Elaea. 

* The meridian, according to our author's system, passing through Con- 
stantinople, Rhodes, Alexandria, Syene, and MeriJe. * II. ix. 328. 



B. XIII. c. I. § 7. THE TROAD. 343 

By Troja he means the continent which he had ravaged. 
Among other places which had been plundered, was the 
country opposite Lesbos, — that about Thebe, Lyrnessus, and 
Pedasus belonging to the Leleges, and the territory also of 
Eurypylus, the son of Telephus ; 

" as when he slew with his sword the hero Eurypylus, the sou of Te- 
lephus; " ^ 

and Neoptolemus, 

*' the hero Eurypylus." 
The poet says these places were laid waste, and even Lesbos ; 

" when he took the well-built Lesbos," ^ 
and, 

" he sacked Lyrnessus and Pedasus," ^ 
and, 

" laid waste Lyrnessus, ahd the walls of Thebe." * 
Brisei's was taken captive at Lyrnessus ; 

"whom he carried away from Lyrnessus."* 
In the capture of this place the poet says, Mynes and Epistro- 
phus were slain, as Brisei's mentions in her lament over Pa- 
troclus, 

" Thou didst not permit me, when the swift-footed Achilles slew my hus- 
band, and destroyed the city of the divine Mynes, to make any lamenta- 
tion ; " * 

for by calling Lyrnessus " the city of the divine Mynes," the 
poet implies that it was governed by him who was killed 
fighting in its defence. 

Chryseis was carried away from Thebe ; 

" we came to Thebe, the sacred city of Eetion," ' 

and Chryseis is mentioned among the booty which was car- 
ried oiF from that place. 

Andromache, daughter of the magnanimous Eetion, Eetion king of the 
Cilicians, who dwelt under the woody Placus at Thebe Hypoplacia.* 

This is the second Trojan dynasty after that of Mynes, and 
in agreement with what has been observed are these words of 
Andromache ; 

1 Od. xviii. 518. 2 II. ix. 129. » II. xx. 92. * II. ii. 691. 

» II. ii. 690. • II. xix. 295. ' II. i. 366. » II. vi. 395. 



344 STRABO. Casaub. 585. 

" Hector, wretch that I am ; we were both bom under the same destiny ; 
thou at Troja in the palace of Piiam, but I at Thebe." 

The words are not to be understood in their direct sense, 
but by a transposition; "both born in Troja, thou in the 
house of Priam, but 1 at Thebe." 

The third dynasty is that of the Leleges, which irf also a 
Trojan dynasty ; 

" of Altes, the king of the war-loving Leleges," ' 
by whose daughter Priam had Lycaon and Polydorus. Even 
the people, who in the Catalogue are said to be commanded 
by Hector, are called Trojans ; 

" Hector, the mighty, with the nodding crest, commanded the Trojans ; " * 
then those under ^neas, 

** the brave son of Anchises had the command of the Dardanii," ' 
and these were Trojans, for the poet says, 

" Thou, ^neas, that counsellest Trojans ; " * 
then the Lycians under the command of Pandarus he calls 
Trojans ; 

" Aphneian Trojans, who inhabited Zeleia at the farthest extremity of 
Ida, who drink of the dark waters of ^sepus, these were led by Panda- 
rus, the illustrious son of Lycaon." * 

This is the sixth dynasty. 

The people, also, who lived between the jEsepus and Aby- 
dos were Trojans, for the country about Abydos was govern- - 
ed by Asius ; 

" those who dwelt about Percote and Practius, at Sestos, Abydos, and 
the noble Arisbe, were led by Asius, the son of Hyrtacus." ^ 

Now it is manifest that a son of Priam, who had the care of 
his father's brood mares, dwelt at Abydos ; 

" he wounded the spurious son of Priam; Democoon, who came from 
Abydos from the pastures of the swift mares." ' 

At Percote,^ the son of Hicetaon was the herdsman of oxen, 
but not of those belonging to strangers ; 

** first he addressed the brave son of Hicetaon, Melanippus, who was lately 
tending the oxen in their pastures at Percote."^ 

1 II. xxi. 86. 2 II. iii. 816. ' II. ii. 819. * II. xx. 83. 

5 11, ii. 824. 6 II. ii. 835. ^ II. iv. 499. » Bergas. 

9 Ii. XV. 546. 



B. XIII. C. I. 



THE TROAD. 34d 



SO that this country also was part of the Troad, and the sub- 
sequent tract as far as Adrasteia, for it was governed by 
" the two sons of Merops of Percote." ' 

All therefore were Trojans from Abydos to Adrasteia, di- 
vided, however, into two bodies, one governed by Aslus, the 
other by the Meropidas, as the country of the Cilicians is di- 
vided into the Thebaic and the Lyrnessian CiHcia. To this 
district may have belonged the country under the sway of 
Eurypylus, for it follows next to the Lyrnessis, or territory of 
Lyrnessus.^ 

That Priam ^ was king of all these countries the words with 
which Achilles addresses him clearly show ; 
" we have heard, old man, that your riches formerly consisted in what 

' II. ii. 831. 

2 So that Cilicia was divided into three principalities, as Strabo ob- 
serves below, c. i. § 70. But perhaps this division was only invented for 
the purpose of completing the number of the nine principalities, for 
Strabo above, c. i. § 2, speaks in a manner to let us suppose that other 
authors reckoned eight only. However this may be, the following is the 
number of the dynasties or principalities established by our author. 1. 
That of Mynes ; 2. that of Eetion, both in Cilicia ; 3. that of Altes ; 4. 
that of Hector ; 5. that of ^Eneas ; 6. that of Pandarus ; 7. that of 
Asius ; 8. that of the son of Merops ; 9. that of Eurypylus, also in Cilicia. 
Coray. 

' Granting to Priam the sovereignty of the districts just mentioned by 
Strabo, his dominion extended over a country about twenty maritime 
leagues in length and the same in breadth. It would be impossible to de- 
termine the exact limits of these different districts, but it is seen that 

The Trojans, properly so called, occupied the basin of the Scamander 
(Menderes-Tschai) . 

The Cilicians, commanded by Eetion, occupied the territory which sur- 
rounds the present Gulf of Adramytti. 

The Cilicians of Mynes were to the south of the above. 

The Leleges extended along a part of the northern coast of the Gulf of 
Adramytti, from Cape Baba. 

The Dardanians were above the Trojans, and the chain of Ida. On the 
north, extending on both sides of the Hellespont, were the people of 
Arisbe, Sestos, and Abydos. 

The people of Adrasteia occupied the Propontis, as far as the Gra- 
nicus. 

The Lycians, the country beyon<J, as far as the <^sepus and Zeleia. 

Strabo mertioned a ninth (c. i. § 2) principality subject to Priam ; he 
does not mention it by name, or rather it is wanting in the text. M. de 
Choiseul-Goutfier, (Voyage Pittoresque de la Giece, vol. ii,) with much 
probability, thinks that this principality was that of the island of Lesbos. 
Gossellin. 



346 STRABO. Casaub. 586. 

Lesbos, the city of Macar, contained, and Phrygia above it and the yast 
Hellespont." ' 

8. Such was the state of the country at that time. After- 
wards changes of various kinds ensued. Phrygians occupied 
the country about Cyzicus as far as Practius ; Thracians, the 
country about Abydos ; and Bebryces and Dryopes, before the 
time of both these nations. The next tract of country was 
occupied by Treres, who were also Thracians ; the plain of 
Thebe, by Lydians, who were then called Maeonians, and by 
the survivors of the Mysians, who were formerly governed by 
Telephus and Teuthoras. 

Since then the poet unites together jEolis and Troja, and 
since the ^olians occupied all the country from the Hermus 
as far as the sea-coast at Cyzicus, and founded cities, we shall 
not do wrong in combining in one description ^olis, properly 
so called, (extending from the Hermus to Lectum,) and the 
tract which follows, as far as the iEsepus ; distinguishing them 
again in speaking of them separately, and comparing what 
is said of them by Homer and by other writers with their pre- 
sent state. 

9. According to Homer, the Troad begins from the city 
Cyzicus and the river -^sepus. He speaks of 'it in this 
manner : 

'* Aphneian Trojans, who inhabited Zeleia at the farthest extremity of 
Ida, who drink the dark waters of iEsepus, these were led by Pandarus, 
the illustrious son of Lycaoui" ^ 

These people he calls also Lycians. They had the name of 
Aphneii, it is thought, from the lake Aphnitis, for this is the 
name of the lake Dascylitis. 

10. Now Zeleia is situated at the farthest extremity of the 
country lying at the foot of Ida, and is distant 190 stadia 
from Cyzicus, and about 80^ from the nearest sea, into which 
the -^sepus discharges itself. 

The poet then immediately gives in detail the parts of the 
sea-coast which follow the -^sepus ; 

" those who occupied Adrasteia, and the territory of Apaesus, and Pityeia 
and the lofty mountain Tereia, these were commanded by Adrastus, and 
Amphius with the linen corslet, the two sons of Merops of Percote," * 

> II. xxiv. 543. =^ II. ii. 824. 

' M. Falconer pretend qu' au lieu de 80 stades il faut lire 180. — Nos 
cartes modernes confirment la conjecture de M. Falconer. Gossellm. 
* 11. ii. 828. 



B, XIII u. I. § 11, 12. THE TROAD. 847 

These places lie below Zeleia, and are occupied by Cyziceni, 
and Priapeni as far as the sea-coast. The river Tarsius ^ 
runs near Zeleia ; it is crossed twenty times on the same road, 
like the Heptaporus, mentioned by the poet, which is crossed 
seven times. The river flowing from Nicomedia to Nics3ea is 
crossed four-and-twenty times ; the river which flows from 
Pholoe to Eleia, several times ; [that flowing from * * * * to 
Scardon,^] five-and-twenty times ; that running from Coscinii 
to Alabanda, in many places, and the river flowing from Tyana 
through the Taurus to Soli, is crossed seventy-five times. 

11. Above the mouth of the ^sepus about * * stadia is a 
hill on which is seen the sepulchre of Memnon, the son of 
Tithonus. Near it is the village of Memnon. Between the 
-^sepus and Priapus flows the Granicus, but for the most 
part it flows through the plain of Adrasteia, where Alexander 
defeated in a great battle the satraps of Dareius, and obtained 
possession of all the country within the Taurus and the Eu- 
phrates. 

On the banks of the Granicus was the city Sidene, with a 
large territory of the same name. It is now in ruins. 

Upon the confines of Cyzicene and Priapene is Harpagia, a 
place from which, so says the fable, Ganymede was taken 
away by force. Others say that it was at the promontory 
Dardanium, near Dardanus. 

12. Priapus is a city on the sea, with a harbour. Some 
say that it was built by Milesians, who, about the same time, 
founded Abydos and Proconnesus ; others, that it was built 
by Cyziceni. It has its name from Priapus,^ who is wor- 
shipped there ; either because his worship was transferred 
thither from Orneae near Corinth, or the inhabitants were 
disposed to worship him because the god was said to be the 
son of Bacchus and a nymph, for their country abounds with 
vines, as also the country on their confines, namely, the territory 
of the Pariani and of the Lampsaceni. It was for this reason 
that Xerxes assigned Lampsacus'* to Themistocles to supply 
him with wine. 

It was in later times that Priapus was considered as a god. 

^ Karadere. 

2 For 2Kdp0wv inthe text — ^read 6S' Ik elg SKa'p^wvnr. Meineke, 

who however suspects the whole passage to be an interpolatu n. 
' Peor Apis, or Baal Peor ? * Lapsaki or Lampsaki. 



348 STRABO. Casaub. 5S8. 

Hesiod for instance knew nothing of Priapus, and he re- 
sembles the Athenian gods Orthane, Conisalus, Tychon, and 
others such as these. 

13. This district was called Adrasteia, and the plain of 
Adrasteia, according to the custom of giving two names to the 
same place, as Thebe, and the plain of Thebe; Mygdonia, 
and the plain of Mygdonia. 

Callisthenes says that Adrasteia had its name from King 
Adrastus, who first built the temple of ISTemesis. The city 
Adrasteia is situated between Priapus and Parium, with a 
plain of the same name below it, in which there was an oracle 
of the Actsean Apollo and Artemis near the sea-shore.^ On 
the demolition of the temple, all the furniture and the stone- 
work were transported to Parium, where an altar, the work- 
manship of Hermocreon, remarkable for its size and beauty, 
was erected, but the oracle, as well as that at Zeleia, was 
abolished. No temple either of Adrasteia or Nemesis exists. 
But there is a temple of Adrasteia near Cy2dcus. Antimachus, 
however, says, 

*' There is a great goddess Nemesis, who has received all these things 
from the immortals. Adrastus first raised an altar to her honour on the 
banks of the river ^sepus, where she ifi worshipped under the name of 
Adrasteia." 

14. The city of Parium lies upon the sea, with a harbour 
larger than that of Priapus, and has been augmented from the 
latter city ; for the Pariani paid court to the Attalic kings, 
to whom Priapene was subject, and, by their permission, ap- 
propriated to themselves a large part of that territory. 

It is here the story is related that the Ophiogeneis have 
some affinity with the serpent tribe (tovq ofeig). They say 
that the males of the Ophiogeneis have the power of curing 
persons bitten by serpents by touching them without in- 
termission, after the manner of the enchanters. They first 
transfer to themselves the livid colour occasioned by the bite, 
and then cause the inflammation and pain to subside. Ac- 
bording to the fable, the founder of the race of Ophiogeneis, a 
hero, was transformed from a serpent into a man. He was 
perhaps one of the African Psylli. The power continued in 
tke race for some time. 

^ The reading is very doubtful. 



B. XIII. c. I. § 15—19, THE TROAD. 349 

Parium was founded by Milesians, Erythrseans, and Pa- 
rians. 

15. Pitya is situated in Pityus in the Parian district, and 
having above it a mountain abounding with pine trees (Trt- 
TvCj^ec) ; it is between Parium and Priapus, near Linum, a 
place upon the sea, where the Linusian cockles are taken, 
which excel all others. 

16. In the voyage along the coast from Parium to Priapus 
are the ancient and the present Proconnesus,' with a city, and 
a large quarry of white marble, which is much esteemed. 
The most beautiful works in the cities in these parts, and par- 
ticularly those in Cyzicus, are constructed of this stone. 

Aristeas, the writer of the poems called Arimaspeian, the 
greatest of impostors, was of Proconnesus. 

17. With respect to the mountain Tereia, some persons say 
that it is the range of mountains in Peirossus, which the Cy- 
ziceni occupy, contiguous to Zeleia, among which was a roj'al 
chase for the Lydian, and afterwards for the Persian, kings. 
Others say that it was a hill forty stadia from Lampsacus, on 
which was a temple sacred to the mother of the gods, sur- 
named Tereia. 

18. Lampsacus, situated on the sea, is a considerable city 
with a good harbour, and, like Abydos, supports its state 
well. It is distant from Abydos about 170 stadia. It had 
formerly, as they say Chios had, the name of Pityusa. On 
the opposite territory in Cherronesus is Callipolis,^ a small 
town. It is situated upon the shore, which projects so far 
towards Asia opposite to Lampsacus that the passage across 
does not exceed 40 stadia. 

19. In the interval between Lampsacus and Parium was 
Pa3sus, a city, and a river Paesus.^ The city was razed, and 
the Paeseni, who, as well as the Lampsaceni, were a colony of 
Milesians, removed to Lampsacus. The poet mentions the 
city with the addition of the first syllable, 

" and the country of Apaosus ; " * 
and without it, 

" a man of great possessions, who lived at Pasus ;" * 
and this is still the name of the river. 

' Marmara, from the marble, fidpfiapov, found there. 
2 Gall-poll. " Beiram-dere. * II. ii. 328. * II. v. 612. 



350 STRABO. Casaub. 689. 

Colonae also is a colony of Milesians. It is situated above 
Lampsacus, in the interior of the territory Lampsacene. 
There is another Colonae situated upon the exterior Helles- 
pontic Sea, at the distance of 140 stadia from Ilium; the 
birth-place, it is said, of Cycnus. Anaximenes mentions a 
Colonae in the Erythraean territory, in Phocis, and in Thes- 
saly. Iliocolone is in the Parian district. In Lampsacene is 
a place well planted with vines, called Gergithiub, and there 
was a city Gergitha, founded by the Gergithi in the Cymaean 
territory, where formerly was a city called Gergitheis, (used 
in the plural number, and of the feminine gender,) the birth- 
place of Cephalon ^ the Gergithian, and even now there exists a 
place in the Cymaean territory called Gergithium, near Larissa. 

Neoptolemus,^ surnamed the Glossographer, a writer of re- 
pute, was of Parium. Charon, 3 the Historian, was of Lampsacus. 
Adeimantes,* Anaximenes,-^ the Rhetorician, and Metrodorus, 
the friend of Epicurus, even Epicurus himself might be said 
to be a Lampsacenian, having lived a long time at Lampsacus, 
and enjoyed the friendship of Idomeneus and Leontes, the 
most distinguished of its citizens. 

It was from Lampsacus that Agrippa transported the 
Prostrate Lion, the workmanship of Lysippus, and placed it 
in the sacred grove between the lake ^ and the strait. 

20. Next to Lampsacus is Abydos, and the intervening 
places, of which the poet speaks in such a manner as to com- 
prehend both Lampsacene and some parts of Pariane, for, in 
the Trojan times, the above cities were not yet in existence : 

* those who inhabited Percote, Practius, Sestos, Abydos, and the famed 
Arisbe, were led by Asius, the son of Hyrtacus,"' 

' The same person probably as Cephalion, author of a History of the 
Trojan War. 

^ Neoptolemus composed a glossary, or dictionary, divided into several 
books. 

^ Charon was the author of a History of the Persian War, and of the 
Annals of Lampsacus. 

* Adeimantes was probably one of the courtiers of Demetrius Polior- 
cetes. 

* Anaximenes was the author of a History of Early Times, and of a work 
entitled, The Death of Kings. The " Rhetoric addressed to Alexander," 
now known as The Rhetoric of Aristotle, has been ascribed to him. For 
the above see Athenseus. 

* Called "Stagnum Agrippse " in Tacit. Ann. b. xv. c. 37. 
1 II. ii. 835. 



B. xiTi. c. I. § 21, 22. THE TROAD. 351 

who, he says, 

" came from Arisbe, from the river SelleTs in a chariot drawn by large 

and furious coursers ; " 

implying by these words that Arisbe was the royal seat of 
Asius, whence, he says, he came, 

" drawn by coursers from the river Selleis." 
But these places are so little known, that writers do not agree 
among themselves about their situation, except that they are 
near Abydos, Lampsacus, and Parium, and that the name of 
the last place was changed from Percope to Percote. 

21. With respect to the rivers, the poet says that the Sel- 
leis flows near Arisbe, for Asius came from Arisbe and ths 
river Selleis. Practius is a river, but no city of that name, as 
some have thought, is to be found. This river runs between 
Abydos and Lampsacus ; the words, therefore, 

"and dwelt near Practius," 
must be understood of the river, as these expressions of the 
poet, 

" they dwelt near the sacred waters of Cephisus," ^ 
and 

"they occupied the fertile land about the river Parthenius." ' 
There was also in Lesbos a city called Arisba, the territory, 
belonging to which was possessed by the Methymnaeans. 
There is a river Arisbus in Thrace, as we have said before, 
near which are situated the Cabrenii Thracians. There are 
many names common to Thracians and Trojans, as Scaei, a 
Thracian tribe, a river Scasus, a Scsean wall, and in Troy, 
Scaean gates. There are Thracians called Xanthii, and a river 
Xanthus in Troja ; an Arisbus which discharges itself into the 
Hebrus,^ and an Arisbe in Troja; a river Rhesus in Troja, 
and Rhesus, a king of the Thracians. The poet mentions 
also another Asius, besides the Asius of Arisbe, 

"who was the maternal uncle of the hero Hector, own brother of Hecu- 
ba, and son of Dyraas who lived in Phrygia on the banks of the San- 
garius." * 

22. Abydos was founded by Milesians by permission of 
Gyges, king of Lydia ; for those places and the whole of the 
Troad were under his sway. There is a promontory near 

' II. iv. 522. * II, ii. 254. ^ ^he Maritza in Roumelia- 

« II. xvi. 717. 



352 STRABO. Casatje. 591. 

Dardanus called Gyges. Abydos is situated upon the mouth 
of tlie Propontis and the Hellespont, and is at an equal dis- 
tance from Lampsacus and Ilium, about 170 stadia. At Aby- 
dos is the Hepta Stadium, (or strait of seven stadia,) the shores 
of which Xerxes united by a bridge. It separates Europe 
from Asia. The extremity of Europe is called Cherronesus, 
from its figure ; it forms the straits at the Zeugma (or Junc- 
tion) ^ which is opposite to Abydos. 

Sestos is the finest^ city in the Cherronesus, and from its 
proximity to Abydos was placed under the command of the 
same governor, at a time when the same limits were not as- 
signed to the governments and to the continents. Sestos and 
Abydos are distant from each other, from harbour to harbour, 
about 30 stadia. The Zeugma is a little beyond the cities ; 
on the side of the Propontis, beyond Abydos, and on the op- 
posite side, beyond Sestos. There is a place near Sestos, 
called Apobathra, where the raft was fastened. Sestos lies 
nearer the Propontis, and above the current which issues from 
it ; whence the passage is more easy from Sestos by deviating 
a little towards the tower of Hero, when, letting the vessel go 
at liberty, the stream assists in effecting the crossing to the 
other side. In crossing from Abydos to the other side persons 
.must sail out in the contrary direction, to the distance of about 
eight stadia towards a tower which is opposite Sestos ; they 
must then take an oblique course, and the current will not be 
entirely against them. 

After the Trojan war, Abydos was inhabited by Thracians, 
then by Milesians. When the cities on the Propontis were 
burnt by Dareius, father of Xerxes, Abydos shared in the 
calamity. Being informed, after his return from Scythia, 
that the Nomades were preparing to cross over to attack him, 
in revenge for the treatment which they had experienced, he 
set fire to these cities, apprehending that they would assist in 
transporting the Scythian army across the strait. 

In addition to other changes of this kind, those occasioned 
by time are a cause of confusion among places. 

We spoke before of Sestos, and of the whole of the Cherro- 
nesus, when we described Thrace. Theopompus says that 

* A bridge of boats which could be unfixed at pleasure for the passage 
of vessels, 

' Meineke reads /cpartfrrjj, the strongest fortified, instead of apiffTtj. 



B. XIII. c. I. § 23—25. THE TROAD. 353 

Sestos is a small but well-fortified place, and is connected 
with the harbour by a wall of two plethra in extent, and for 
this reason, and by its situation above the current, it com- 
mands the passage of the strait. 

23. In the Troad, above the territory of Abydos is Astyra, 
which now belongs to the Abydeni, — a city in ruins, but it 
was formerly an independent place, and had gold-mines, 
which are now nearly exhausted, like those in Mount Tmolus 
near the Pactolus. 

From Abydos to the ^sepus are, it is said, about 700 
stadia, but not so much in sailing in a direct line. 

24. Beyond Abydos are the parts about Ilium, the sea- 
coast as far as Lectum, the places in the Trojan plain, and 
the country at the foot of Ida, which was subject to JEneas. 
The poet names the Dardanii in two ways, speaking of them 
as 

" Dardanii governed by the brave son of Anchises," * 

calling them Dardanii, and also Dardani ; 

" Troes, and Lycii, and close-fighting Dardani." ' 

It is probable that the Dardania,^ so called by the poet, 
was anciently situated there ; 

" Dardanus, the son of cloud-compelling Jupiter, founded Dardania : " * 

at present there is not a vestige of a city. 

25. Plato conjectures that, after the deluges, three kinds 
of communities were established ; the first on the heights of 
the mountains, consisting of a simple and savage race, who 
had taken refuge there through dread of the waters, which 
overflowed the plains ; the second, at the foot of the moun- 
tains, who regained courage by degrees, as the plains began 
to dry ; the third, in the plains. But a fourth, and perhaps 
a fifth, or more communities might be supposed to be 
formed, the last of which might be on the sea-coast, and 
in the islands, after all fear of deluge was dissipated. For 
as men approached the sea with a greater or less degree 
of courage, we should have greater variety in forms of 
government, diversity also in manners and habits, accord- 

' II. ii. 819. » II. XV. 425. 

' The ancient Dardania in the interior ; a second Dardania was after- 
wards built on the sea-coast. * II. sx 215. 

VOL. II. 2 A 



854 STRABO. Casaub. 693. 

ing as a simple and savage people assumed the milder cha- 
racter of the second kind of community. There is, how- 
ever, a distinction to be observed even among these, as of 
rustic, half rustic, and of civilized people. Among these 
finally arose a gradual change, and an assumption of names, 
applied to polished and high character, the result of an im- 
proved moral condition produced by a change of situation 
and mode of life. Plato says that the poet describes these 
differences, alleging as an example of the first form of society 
the mode of life among the Cyclops, who subsisted on the 
fruits of the earth growing spontaneously, and who occupied 
certain caves in the heights of mountains ; 

" all things grow there," he says, " without sowing seed, and without the 
plough. 

" But they have no assemblies for consulting together, nor administra- 
tion of laws, but hve on the heights of lofty mountains, in deep caves, and 
each gives laws to his wife and children." ' 

As an example of the second form of society, he alleges 
the mode of life und er Dardanus ; 

" he founded Dardania ; for sacred Ilium was not yet a city in the plain 
with inhabitants, but they still dwelt at the foot of Ida abounding with 
streams," ' 

An example of the third state of society is taken from that 
in the time of Ilus, when the people inhabited the plains. He 
is said to have been the founder of Ilium, from whom the 
city had its name. It is probable that for this reason he was 
buried in the middle of the plain, because he first ventured to 
make a settlement in it, 

" they rushed through the middle of the plain by the wild fig-tree near 
the tomb of ancient Ilus, the son of Dardanus." ^ 

He did not, however, place entire confidence in the situation, 
for he did not build the city where it stands at present, but 
nearly thirty stadia higher to the east, towards Ida, and 
Dardania, near the present village of the Ilienses. The pre- 
sent Ilienses are ambitious of having it supposed that theirs is 
the ancient city, and have furnished a subject of discussion to 
those who form their conjectures from the poetry of Homer ; 
but it does not seem to be the city meant by the poet. Other 
writers also relate, that the city had frequently changed its 
place, but at last about the time of Croesus it became station- 

' Od. ix. 109, 112. ^ II. XX. 216. ^ II. xi. 166. 



B. XIII. c. I. § 26, 27. THE TROAD. 355 

ary. Such changes, which then took place, from higher to 
lower situations, mark the differences, I conceive, which fol- 
lowed in the forms of goverament and modes of life. But 
we must examine this subject elsewhere. 

26. The present city of Ilium was once, it is said, a village, 
containing a small and plain temple of Minerva ; that Alex- 
ander, after * his victory at the Granicus, came up, and decor- 
ated the temple with offerings, gave it the title of city, and 
ordered those who had the management of such things to im- 
prove it with new buildings ; he declared it free and exempt 
from tribute. Afterwards, when he had destroyed the Persian 
empire, he sent a letter, expressed in kind terms, in which he 
promised the Ihenses to make theirs a great city, to build a 
temple of great magnificence, and to institute sacred games. 

After the death of Alexander, it was Lysimachus who 
took the greatest interest 'in the welfare of the place ; built 
a temple, and surrounded the city with a wall of about 40 
stadia in extent. He settled here the inhabitants of the an- 
cient cities around, which were in a dilapidated state. It was 
at this time that he directed his attention to Alexandreia, 
founded by Antigonus, and surnamed Antigonia, which was 
altered (into Alexandreia). For it appeared to be an act of 
pious duty in the successors of Alexander first to found cities 
which should bear his name, and afterwards those which should 
be called after their own. Alexandreia continued to exist, and 
became a large place ; at present it has received a Roman 
colony, and is reckoned among celebrated cities. 

27. The present Ilium was a kind of village-city, when 
the Romans first came into Asia and expelled Antiochus the 
Great from the country within the Taurus. Demetrius of Scep- 
sis says that, when a youth, he came, in the course of his 
travels, to this city, about that time, and saw the houses so 
neglected that even the roofs were without tiles. Hegesianax^ 
also relates, that the Galatians, who crossed over from Europe, 
being in want of some strong-hold, went up to the city, but 
immediately left it, when they saw that it was not fortified 
with a wall; afterwards it underwent great reparation and 

* According to Arrian and PhUarch, it was before his victory. 

^ A native of Alexandreia-Troas and a grammarian ; he was the 
author of Commentaries on various authors and of a History of the Trojan 
War. — Athenceus. 

2 A 2 



356 STRABO. Casaub. 595 

improvement. It was again injured by the Romans under the 
command of Fimbrias. They took it by siege in the Mithri- 
datic war. Fimbrias was sent as quaestor, with the consul 
Valerius Flaccus, who was appointed to carry on the war 
against Mithridates. But having excited a sedition, and put 
the consul to death in Bithynia, he placed himself at the head 
of the army and advanced towards Ilium, where the inhabit- 
ants refused to admit him into the city, as they regarded him 
as a robber. He had recourse to force, and took the city on the 
eleventh day. When he was boasting that he had taken a 
city on the eleventh day, which Agamemnon had reduced with 
difficulty in the tenth year of the siege with a fleet of a thou- 
sand vessels, and with the aid of the whole of Greece, one of 
the Ilienses replied, " We had no Hector to defend the city." 

Sylla afterwards came, defeated Fimbrias, and dismissed 
Mithridates, according to treaty, into his own territory. Sylla 
conciliated the Ilienses by extensive repairs of their city. In 
our time divus Caesar showed them still more favour, in imita- 
tion of Alexander. He was inclined to favour them, for the 
purpose of renewing his family connexion with the Ilienses, 
and as an admirer of Homer. 

There exists a corrected copy of the poems of Homer, 
called " the casket-copy." Alexander perused it in company 
with CalHsthenes and Anaxarchus, and having made some 
marks and observations deposited it in a casket' of costly 
workmanship which he found among the Persian treasures. 
On account then of his admiration of the poet and his descent 
from the ^acidae, (who were kings of the Molossi, whose 
queen they say was Andromache, afterwards the wife of 
Hector,) Alexander treated the Ilienses with kindness. 

But CjBsar, who admired the character of Alexander, and 
had strong proofs of his affinity to the Ilienses, had the great- 
est possible desire to be their benefactor. The proofs of his 
affinity to the Ilienses were strong, first as being a Roman, 
— for the Romans consider JEneas to be the founder of their 
race, — next he had the name of Julius, from lulus, one of his 

^ According to Pliny, b. vii. 29, this casket contained the perfumes of 
Darius, unguentorum scrinium. According to Plutarch, (Life of Alexan- 
der,) the poem of Homer was the Iliad revised and corrected by Aristo- 
tle. From what Strabo here says of CalHsthenes and Anaxarchus, we 
may probably understand a second revision made by them under the in- 
spection of Alexander. 



B. XIII. c. I. § 28—30. THE TROAD. 357 

ancestors, a descendant of ^Eneas. He therefore assigned to 
them a district, and guaranteed their liberty with exemption 
from imposts, and they continue at present to enjoy these ad- 
vantages. They maintain by this evidence that the ancient 
Ilium, even by Homer's account, was not situated there. I 
must however first describe the places which commence from 
the sea-coast, where I made the digression. 

28. Next to Abydos is the promontory Dardanis,^ which 
we mentioned a little before, and the city Dardanus, distant 
70 stadia from Abydos. Between them the river Rhodius 
discharges itself, opposite to which on the Cherronesus is the 
Cynos-sema,^ which is said to be the sepulchre of Hecuba. 
According to others, the Rhodius empties itself into the 
^sepus. It is one of the rivers mentioned by the poet, 

" Rhesus, and Heptaporus, Caresus, and Rhodius." ^ 

Dardanus is an ancient settlement, but so slightly thought 
of, that some kings transferred its inhabitants to Abydos, 
others re-settled them in the ancient dwelling-place. Here 
Cornelius Sylla, the Roman general, and Mithridates, sur- 
named Eupator, conferred together, and terminated the w^ar 
by a treaty. 

29. Near Dardanus is Ophrynium, on which is the grove 
dedicated to Hector in a conspicuous situation, and next is 
Pteleos, a lake. 

30. Then follows Rhoeteium, a city on a hill, and continuous 
to it is a shore on a level with the sea, on which is situated 
a monument and temple of Ajax, and a statue. Antony took 
away the latter and carried it to ^gypt, but Augustus Caesar 
restored it to the inhabitants of Rhoeteium, as he restored other 

* Called above, § 22, Cape Dardanium (Cape Barber). Pliny gives the 
name Dardanium to the town which Herodotus and Strabo call Darda- 
nus, and places it at an equal distance from Rhoeteium and Abydos. The 
modern name Dardanelles is derived from it. 

' The name was given, it is said, in consequence of the imprecations of 
Hecuba on her captors. Others say that Hecuba was transformed into a 
bitch. The tomb occupied the site of the present castle in Europe called 
by the Turks Kilid-bahr. 

' Pliny states that in his time there were no traces of the Rhodius, nor 
of the other rivers mentioned by Strabo in following Homer. According 
to others, the Rhodius is the torrent which passes by the castle of the 
Dardanelles in Asia, called by the Turks Sultan-kalessi, and therefore 
cannot unite with the iEsepus. 



358 STRABO. Casaub. 595. 

Statues to other cities. Antony took away the most beautiful 
offerings from the most celebrated temples to gratify the 
^Egyptian queen, but Augustus Caesar restored ttiem to the 
gods. 

31. After Rhoeteium is Sigeium,^ a city in ruins, and the 
naval station, the harbour of the Achaeans, the Achaean camp, 
the Stomalimne, as it is called, and the mouths of the Scaraan- 
der. The Scamander and the Simoeis, uniting in the plain,^ 
bring down a great quantity of mud, bank up the sea-coast, 
and form a blind mouth, salt-water lakes, and marshes. 

Opposite the Sigeian promontory on the Cherronesus is the 
Protesilaeium,^ and Eleussa, of which I have spoken in the 
description of Thrace. 

32. The extent of this sea-coast as we sail in a direct line 
from Rhoeteium to Sigeium, and the monument of Achilles, is 
60 stadia. The whole of the coast lies below the present 
Ilium ; the part near the port of the Achaeans,^ distant from 
the present Ilium about 12 stadia, and thirty stadia more from 

^ lenischer. 

' The Scamander no longer unites with the Simois, and for a consider- 
able length of time has discharged itself into the Archipelago. The an- 
cient mouth of these rivers preserve, however, the name Menderd, which 
is an evident alteration of Scamander, and the name Mendere has also 
become that of the ancient Simois. It is to be observed that Demetrius 
of Scepsis, whose opinions on what regards these rivers and the position 
of Troy are quoted by Strabo, constantly takes the Simois or Mendere 
for the Scamander of Homer. The researches of M. de Choiseul-Gouf- 
fier on the Troad appear to me clearly to demonstrate that Demetrius of 
Scepsis is mistaken. — Gossellin. 

^ The temple or tomb of Protesilaus, one of the Greek princes who 
went to the siege of Troy, and the first who was killed on disembarking. 
Artayctes, one of the generals of Xerxes, pillaged the temple and pro- 
faned it by his debauchery. According to Herodotus, (b. ix. 115,) who 
narrates the circumstance, the temple and the tomb of Protesilaus must 
have been in Eleussa (Paleo-Castro) itself, or at least very near this 
city. Chandler thought he had discovered this tomb near the village 
which surrounds the castle of Europe. 

* The port of the Achseans, the spot, that is, where the Greeks disem- 
barked on the coast of the Troad, at the entrance of the Hellespont, ap- 
pears to have been comprehended between the hillock called the Tomb of 
Achilles and the southern base of the heights, on which is situated another 
tomb, which goes by the name of the Tomb of Ajax. This space of 
about 1500 toises in length, now sand and lagunes, where the village 
Koum Kale and the fortress called the New Castle of Asia stand, and 
which spreads across the mouth of the Mendere, once formed a creek, the 
bottom of which, from examination on the spot, extended 1200 or 1500 



B. XIII. c. I. § 32. THE TKOAD. 359 

the ancient Ilium, * which is higher up in the part towards 
Ida. 

Near the Sigeium is a temple and monument of Achilles, 
and monuments also of Patroclus and Ant.lochus.^ The 
Ilienses perform sacred ceremonies in honour of them all, and 
even of Ajax. But they do not worship Hercules, alleging as 
a reason that he ravaged their country. Yet some one might 
say that he laid it waste in such a manner that he left it to 
future spoilers in an injured condition indeed, but still in the 
condition of a city ; wherefore the poet expresses himself in 
this manner, 

" He ravaged the city of Ilium, and made its streets desolate," ^ 

for desolation implies a deficiency of inhabitants, but not a 
complete destruction of the place ; but those persons destroyed 
it entirely, whom they think worthy of sacred rites, and wor- 
ship as gods ; unless, perhaps, they should plead that these 
persons engaged in a just, and Hercules in an unjust, war, on 
account of the horses of Laomedon. To this is opposed a 
fabulous tale, that it was not on account of the horses but of 
the reward for the delivery of Hesione from the sea-monster. 

toises from the present shore. It is from the bottom of this marshy 
creek the 12 stadia must be measured which Strabo reckons from the 
Port of the Acheeans to New Ilium. These 12 stadia, estimated at 700 to 
a degree, (like the generality of other measures adopted by Strabo in this 
district,) are equal to 877 toises, and conduct in a straight line to the 
western point of the mountain Tchiblak, where there are remains of 
buildings which may be the vestiges of New Ilium. 

The other 30 stadia, which, according to Strabo, or rather according to 
Demetrius of Scepsis, was the distance from New Ilium to the town of 
the Ilienses, are equal to 2440 toises, and terminate at the most eastern 
edge of the table-land of Tchiblak, in a spot where ruins of a temple and 
other edifices are seen. Thus there is nothing to prevent our taking this 
place for the site of the town of the Ilienses, and this is the opinion of 
many modern travellers. But did this town occupy the same ground as 
the ancient Ilium, as Demetrius of Scepsis believed ? Strabo thinks not, 
and we shall hereafter see the objections he has to offer against the opi- 
nion of Demetrius. — Gossellin. 

* Consequently ancient Ilium, according to Strabo, was forty-two 
stadia from the coast. Scylax places it at twenty-five stadia ; but pro- 
bably the copyists of this latter writer have confounded the numerical 
Greek letters ki (25) with /it (45). 

* According to Homer, (Od. xxiv. 75,) Patrocles must have the same 
tomb with Achilles, as their ashes were united in the same urn ; those of 
Antilochus were contained in a separate urn. 

» 11. V. 642. 



360 STRABO. Casaub. 596. 

Let us, however, dismiss this subject, for the discussion leads 
to the refutation of fables only, and probably there may be 
reasons unknown to us which induced the llienses to worship 
some of these persons, and not others. The poet seems, in 
speaking of Hercules, to represent the city as small, since he 
ravaged the city 

" with six ships only, and a small band of men."* 

From these words it appears that Priam from a small became 
a great person, and a king of kings, as we have already said. 

A short way from this coast is the Achaeium, situated on 
the continent opposite Tenedos. 

33. Such, then, is the nature of the places on the sea-coast. 
Above them lies the plain of Troy, extending as far as Ida to 
the east, a distance of many stadia.^ The part at the foot of 
the mountain is narrow, extending to the south as far as the 
places near Scepsis, and towards the north as far as the Lyci- 
ans about Zeleia. This country Homer places under the 
command of ^neas and the Antenoridae, and calls it Dar- 
dania. Below it is Cebrenia, which for the most part con- 
sists of plains, and lies nearly parallel to Dardania. There 
was also formerly a city Cybrene. Demetrius (of Scepsis) 
supposes that the tract about Ilium, subject to Hector, ex- 
tended to this place, from the Naustathmus (or station for 
vessels) to Cebrenia, for he says that the sepulchre of Alex- 
ander Paris exists there, and of CEnone, who, according to 
historians, was the wife of Alexander, before the rape of 
Helen ; the poet says, 

" Cebriones, the spurious son of the far-famed Priam," ^ 

who, perhaps, received his name from the district, (Cebrenia,) 
or, more probably, from the city (Cebrene'*). Cebrenia ex- 
tends as far as the Scepsian district. The boundary is the 
Scamander, which runs through the middle of Cebrenia and 

» II. V. 641. 

* This plain, according to Demetrius, was to the east of the present 
Mendere, and was enclosed by this river and the mountain Tchiblak. 

* II. xvi. 738. 

* If the name Cebrene or Cebrenia were derived from Cebriones, it 
would have been, according to analogy, Cebrionia ; but it would have 
been better to have supposed the name to have been derived from Cebren, 
the more so as this river was supposed to be the father of CEnone the 
wife of Alexander (Paris). Whatever may be the origin of the name, 
the city Cebrene was, according to Ephorus, a colony of Cyme in ^olia. 



B. xiii. c. I. $ 34. THE TROAD, 361 

Scepsia. There was continual enmity and war between the 
Scepsians and Cebrenians, till Antigonus settled them both 
together in the city, then called Antigonia, but at present 
Alexandria. The Cebrenians remained there with the other 
inhabitants, but the Scepsians, by the permission of Lysi- 
machus, returned to their own country. 

34. From the mountainous tract of Ida near these places, 
two arms, he says, extend to the sea, one in the direction of 
Rhoeteium, the other of Sigeium, forming a semicircle, and 
terminate in the plain at the same distance from the sea as 
the present Ilium, which is situated between the extremities 
of the above-mentioned arms, whereas the ancient Ilium was 
situated at their commencement. This space comprises the 
Simo'isian plain through which the Simoeis runs, and the 
Scamandrian plain, watered by the Scamander. This latter 
plain is properly the plain of Troy, and Homer makes it the 
scene of the greatest part of his battles, for it is the widest of 
the two ; and there we see the places named by him, the Eri- 
neos, the tomb of ^syetes,^ Batieia, and the tomb of Ilus. 
With respect to the Scamander and the Simoeis, the former, 
after approaching Sigeium, and the latter Rhoeteium, unite 
their streams a little in front of the present Ilium,^ and then 
empty themselves near Sigeium, and form as it is called the 
Stomalimne. Each of the above-mentioned plains is separ- 
ated from the other by a long ridge ^ which is in a straight line 
with the above-mentioned arms ; * the ridge begins at the pre- 

* The position of the tomb of ^syetes is said to be near a village called 
by the Turks Udjek, who also give the name Udjek-tepe to the tomb it- 
self. The tomb of Ilus, it is presumed, must be in the neighbourhood of 
the ancient bed of Scamander, and Batieia below the village Bounar- 
bachi. 

' This and the following paragraph more especially are at variance 
with the conjecture of those who place New Ilium^t the village Tchib- 
lak, situated beyond and to the north of the Simois. 

' As there are no mountains on the left bank of the Mendere, at the 
distance at which Demetrius places the town of the Ilienses, the long 
ridge or height of which Strabo speaks can only be referred to the hill of 
Tchiblak. In that case the Simois of Demetrius must be the stream 
Tchiblak, which modern maps represent as very small, but which Major 
Rennell, on authority as yet uncertain, extends considerably, giving it 
the name Shiraar, which according to him recalls that of Simois. — Gos- 
sellin. 

* Kramer proposes the insertion of alv before tSjv dprjfikv(t)v dyKwvoiv 



362 STRABO. Casaub. 597. 

sent Ilium and is united to it ; it extends as far as Cebrenia, 
and completes with the arms on each side the letter 6. 

35. A little above this ridge of land is the village of the 
Ilienses, supposed to be the site of the ancient Ilium, at the 
distance of 30 stadia from the present chy. Ten stadia above 
the village of the Ilienses is Callicolone, a hill beside which, 
at the distance of five stadia, runs the Simoeis. 

The description of the poet is probable. First what he 
says of Mars, 

** but on the other side Mars arose, like a black tempest, one while with 
a shrill voice calling upon the Trojans from the summit of the citadel, at 
another time rvmning along Callicolone beside the Simoeis ; " ' 

for since the battle was fought on the Scamandrian plain, 
Mars might, according to probability, encourage the men, one 
while from the citadel, at another time from the neighbouring 
places, the Simoeis and the Callicolone, to which the battle 
might extend. But since Callicolone is distant from the 
present Ilium 40 stadia, where was the utility of changing 
places at so great a distance, where the array of the troops 
did not extend ? and the words 

" The Lycii obtained by lot the station near Thymbra," ^ 

which agree better with the ancient city, for the plain Thym- 

err' tvOeiag, by which we are to understand that the extremities of the 
arms and of the ridge are in the same straight line. 

Groskurd reads ixtra^v before r. c. a., changes the construction of the 
sentence, and reads the letter \p instead of c. His translation is as fol- 
lows : ** Both-mentioned plains are separated from each other by a long 
neck of land between the above-mentioned arms, which takes its com- 
mencement from the present Ilium and unites with it, extending itself in 
a straight line as far as Cebrenia, and forms with the arms on each side 
the letter \p." 

The topography of the plain of Troy and its neighbourhood is not yet 
sufficiently known to be able to distinguish all the details given by Deme- 
trius. It appears only that he took the Tchiblak for the Simois, and 
placed the plain of Troy to the right of the present Mendere, which he 
called the Scamander. This opinion, lately renewed by Major Rennell, 
presents great and even insurmountable difficulties when we endeavour to 
explain on this basis the principal circumstances of the Iliad. It must be 
remembered that in the time of Demetrius the remembrance of the posi- 
tion of ancient Troy was entirely lost, and that this author constantly 
reasoned on the hypothesis, much contested in his time, that the town of 
the Ilienses corresponded with that of ancient Ilium. Observations on 
the Topography of the plain of Troy by James Rennell. — Gossellin. 

' II. XX. 51. ' II. X. 430. 



B. XIII. c. I. § 36. THE TROAD. 363 

bra,^ is near, and the river Thymbrius, which runs through 
it, discharges itself into the Scamander, near the temple of 
Apollo Thymbraeus, but is distant 50 stadia from the present 
Ilium. The Erineos,^ a rugged spot abounding with wild 
fig-trees, lies below the ancient city, so that Andromache 
might say in conformity with such a situation, 
"but place your bands near Erineos, where the city is most accessible to 
the enemy, and where they can mount the wall,"^ 

but it is very far distant from the present city. The beech- 
tree was a little lower than the Erineos ; of the former Achil- 
les says, 

" When I fought with the Achaeans Hector was not disposed to urge the 
fight away from the wall, but advanced only as far as the Scsean gates, 
and the beech-tree."* 

36. Besides, the Naustathmus. which retains its name at 
present, is so near the present city that any person may justly 
be surprised at the imprudence of the Greeks, and the want of 
spirit in the Trojans ; — imprudence on the part of the Greeks, 
that they should have left the place for so long a time unforti- 
fied with a wall, in the neighbourhood of so large a city, and 
so great a body of men, both inhabitants and auxiliaries ; for 
the wall. Homer says, was constructed at a late period ; or per- 
haps no wall was built and the erection and destruction of it, 
as Aristotle says, are due to the invention of the poet ; — a want 
of spirit on the part of the Trojans, who, after the wall was 
built, attacked that, and the Naustathmus, and the vessels 
themselves, but had not the courage before there was a wall 
to approach and besiege this station, although the distance was 
not great, for the Naustathmus is near Sigeium. The Sca- 
mander discharges itelf near this place at the distance of 20 
stadia from Ilium.^ If any one shall say that the Naustath- 
mus is the present harbour of the Achaeans, he must mean a 
place still nearer, distant about twelve stadia from the sea, 

1 Tumbrek. 

' Erineos, a wild fig-tree. Homer, it is to be observed, speaks of a 
single wild fig-tree, whereas Strabo describes a spot planted with them. 
This place, or a place near the ancient Ilium, is called by the Turks, ac- 
cording to M, Choiseul-Gouffier, Indgirdagh — i. e. the mountain of fig- 
trees, although none were to be found there whether cultivated or wild. 

3 II. vi. 433. « II. ix. 352. 

' 1628 toises. The alluvial deposit has now extended the mouth of the 
Mendere 3400 toises from the ruins where the measurement indicated 
the position of New Ilium. — Gossellin. 



364 STRABO, Casaub. 599. 

which is the extent of the plain in front of the city to the 
sea ; but he will be in error if he include (in the ancient) the 
present plain, which is all alluvial soil brought down by the 
rivers,^ so that if the interval is 12 stadia at present, it must 
have been at that period less in extent by one half The 
story framed by Ulysses, which he tells Eumseus, implies a 
great distance from the Naustathmus to the city ; 

" when we lay in ambush below Troy," ' 
and he adds afterwards, 

"for we had advanced too far from the ships."' 
Scouts are despatched to learn whether the Trojans will re- 
main near the ships when drawn away far from their own 
walls, or whether 

"they will return back to the city."-* 
Poly dam as also says, 

*' Consider well, my friends, what is to be done, for my advice is to re- 
turn now to the city, for we are far from the walls." * 

Demetrius (of Scepsis) adds the testimony of Hestiaea^ of 
Alexandreia, who composed a work on the Iliad of Homer, 
and discusses the question whether the scene of the war was 
about the present city, and what was the Trojan plain which 
the poet mentions as situated between the city and the sea, 
for the plain seen in front of the present city is an accumula- 
tion of earth brought down by the rivers, and formed at a 
later period. 

37. Polites also, 

" who was the scout of the Trojans, trusting to his swiftness of foot, and 
who was on the summit of the tomb of the old ^syetes," ^ 

was acting absurdly. For although he was seated 

"on the summit of the tomb," 
yet he might have observed from the much greater height of 
the citadel, situated nearly at the same distance, nor would 
his swiftness of foot have been required for the purpose of 
security, for the tomb of ^syetes, which exists at present on 
the road to Alexandreia, is distant five stadia from the citadel. 

' The passage is corrupt, and the translation is rather a paraphrase, 
assisted by the conjectures of Kramer. 

2 Od. xiv. 469. 3 od. xiv. 496. * II. xx. 209. * II. xviii. 254. 

* Hestiaea was distinguished for her commentary on Homer somewhat 
in the same manner as Madame Dacier in modern times. ' 11. ii. 792. 



B. XIII. c. I. § 38. THE TROAD. 365 

Nor is the course of Hector round the city at all a probable 
circumstance, for the present city will not admit of a circuit 
round it on account of the continuous ridge of hill, but the 
ancient city did allow such a course round it.^ 

88. No trace of the ancient city remains. This might be 
expected, for the cities around were devastated, but not entire- 
ly destroyed, whereas when Troy was overthrown from its 
foundation all the stones were removed for the reparation of 
the other cities. Archseanax of Mitylene is said to have for- 
tified Sigeium with the stones brought from Troy. Sigeium 
was taken possession of by the Athenians, who sent Phryno, 
the victor in the Olympic games, at the time the Lesbians 
advanced a claim to nearly the whole Troad. They had in- 

* M, Lechevalier, who extends lUum and its citadel Pergamus to the 
highest summit of the mountain Bounar-bachi, acknowledges that the 
nature of the ground would prevent the course of Hector and Achilles 
taking place round this position, in consequence of the rivers and the pre- 
cipices which surround it on the S. E. To meet the objection which 
these facts would give rise to, M. Lechevalier interprets the expressions 
of Homer in a manner never thought of by the ancient grammarians, 
although they contorted the text in every possible manner, to bend it to 
their peculiar opinions. Would it not be more easy to believe that at 
the time of the siege of Troy this city was no longer on the summit of 
the mountain, nor so near its ancient acropolis as it was at first ; and that 
the inhabitants moved under the reign of Ilus, as Plato says, and as Ho- 
mer leads us to conclude, to the entrance of the plain and to the lower 
rising grounds of Ida ? The level ground on the top mountain which 
rises above Bounar-bachi, and on which it has been attempted to trace the 
contour of the walls of ancient Ilium and of its citadel, is more than 3200 
toises in circumference. 

But it is difficult to conceive how, at so distant a period and among a 
people half savage, a space of ground so large and without water could 
he entirely occupied by a town, whose power scarcely extended beyond 
25 leagues. On the other hand, as the exterior circuit of this mountain 
is more than 5500 toises, it is not to be conceived how Homer, so exact 
in his description of places, should have represented Achilles and Hector, 
already fatigued by a long-continued battle, as making an uninterrupted 
course of about seven leagues round this mountain, before commencing 
in single combat. It appears to me therefore that the Troy of Homer 
must have covered a much less space of ground than is generally sup- 
posed, and according to all appearances this space was bounded by a 
hillock, on which is now the village of Bounar-bachi. This hillock is 
about 700 or 800 toises in circumference ; it is isolated from the rest of the 
mountain ; and warriors in pursuing one another could easily make the 
circuit. This would not prevent Pergamus from being the citadel of 
Ilium, but it was separated from it by an esplanade, which served as a 
means of communication between the town and the fortress. — Gossellin. 



oob STRABO. Casaub. 600. 

deed founded most of the settlements, some of whicli exist at 
present, and others have disappeared. Pittacus of Mitylene, 
one of the seven wise men, sailed to the Troad against Phryno, 
the Athenian general, and was defeated in a pitched battle. 
(It was at this time that the poet Aleaeus, as he himself says, 
when in danger in some battle, threw away his arms and fled. 
He charged a messenger with injunctions to inform those at 
home that Alcseus was safe, but that he did not bring 
away his arms. These were dedicated by the Athenians as 
an offering in the temple of Minerva Glaucopis.)^ Upon 
Phryno's proposal to meet in single combat, Pittacus ad- 
vanced with his fishing gear,^ enclosed his adversary in a 
net, pierced him with his three-pronged spear, and despatched 
him with a short sword. The war however still continuing, 
Periander was chosen arbitrator by both parties, and put an 
end to iti 

39. Demetrius accuses Timaeus of falsehood, for saying 
that Periander built a wall round the Achilleiura out of the 
stones brought from Ilium as a protection against the attacks 
of the Athenians, and with a view to assist Pittacus ; whereas 
this place was fortified by the Mitylenaeans against Sigeium, 
but not with stones from Ilium, nor by Periander. For how 
should they choose an enemy in arms to be arbitrator ? 

The Achilleium is a place which contains the monument of 
Achilles, and is a small settlement. It was destroyed, as also 
Sigeium, by the Hienses on account of the refractory disposi- 
tion of its inhabitants. For all the sea-coast as far as Darda- 
nus was afterwards, and is at present, subject to them. 

Anciently the greatest part of these places were subject to 
the Cohans, and hence Ephorus does not hesitate to call all 
the country from Abydos to Cume by the name of iEolis. 
But Thucydides^ says that the Mitylenaeans were deprived of 
the Troad in the Peloponnesian war by the Athenians under 
the command of Paches. 

40. The present Hienses affirm that the city was not en- 
tirely demolished when it was taken by the Achseans, nor at 
any time deserted. The Locrian virgins began to be sent 

* This paragraph, according to Kramer, is probably an interpolation. 
^ Herod, viii. c. 85. 

' Thiicyd., b. iii. c. 50, does not use the word Troad, but says " all the 
towns possessed by the Mitylenaeans." 



B. XIII. c. I. § 41. THE TROAD. 367 

there, as was the custom every year, a short time afterwards. 
This however is not told by Homer. Nor was Homer ac- 
quainted with the violation of Cassandra,* but says that she 
was a virgin about that time : 

" He slew Othryoneus, who had lately come to the war from Cabesus, in- 
duced by the glory of the contest, and who sought in marriage the most 
beautiful of the daughters of Priam, Cassandra, without a dower." * 

He does not mention any force having been used, nor does 
he attribute the death of Ajax by shipwreck to the wrath of 
Minerva, nor to any similar cause, but says, in general terms, 
that he was an object of hatred to Minerva, (for she was in- 
censed against all who had profaned her temple,) and that 
Ajax died by the agency of Neptune for his boasting speeches. 
The Locrian virgins were sent there when the Persians 
were masters of the country. 

41. Such is the account of the Ilienses. But Homer 
speaks expressly of the demolition of the city : 

" The day will come when at length sacred Ilium shall perish, ' 
After we have destroyed the lofty city of Priam,* 
By counsel, by wisdom, and by artifice, 
The city of Priam was destroyed in the tenth year."* 

Of this they produce evidence of the following kind ; the 
statue of Minerva, which Homer represents as in a sitting 
posture, is seen at present to be a standing figure, for he 
orders them 

" to place the robe on the knees of Athene," • 
in the same sense as this verse, 

"no son of mine should sit upon her knees," ' 
and it is better to understand it thus, than as some explain it, 
" by placing the robe at the knees," and adduce this line, 
" she sat upon the hearth in the light of the fire," * 

* Poets and mythologists subsequent to Homer supposed Cassandra, 
the daughter of Priam, to have been violated by Ajax, the Locrian ; that 
as a punishment for his crime this hero perished by shipwreck on his re- 
turn from Troy, and that three years afterwards Locris was visited by 
a famine, which occasioned great destruction to the inhabitants. The 
oracle consulted on the occasion of this calamity advised the Locrians to 
send annually to Minerva of Ilium two young women chosen by lot. 
They obeyed and continued to send them for 1000 years, until the time of 
the sacred war. 

=» II. xiii. 363. » n ^i 443. * od. iu. 130. * II. xii. 15. 

« II. vi. 92 and 273. ' II. ix. 455. » II. vi. 305. 



368 STEABO. Casaub. 601. 

for " near the hearth." For what would the laying the robe 
at the knees mean ? And they who alter the accent, and for 
yovvamv read yovvaaiv, like dvidtrn^, or in whatever way they 
understand it,^ come to no conclusion. Many of the ancient 
statues of Minerva are found in a sitting posture, as those at 
Phocaea, Massalia, Rome, Chios, and many other cities. But 
modern writers, among whom is Lycurgus the rhetorician, 
agree that the city was destroyed, for in mentioning the city 
of the Ilienses he says, " who has not heard, when it was 
once razed by the Greeks, that it was uninhabited? "^ 

42. It is conjejptured that those who afterwards proposed 
to rebuild it avoided the spot as inauspicious, either on ac- 
count of its calamities, of which it had been the scene, or 
whether Agamemnon, according to an ancient custom, had de- 
voted it to destruction with a curse, as Croesus, when he de- 
stroyed Sidene, in which the tyrant Glaucias had taken re- 
fuge, uttered a curse against those who should rebuild its 
walls. They therefore abandoned that spot and built a city 
elsewhere. 

The Astypalaeans, who were in possession of Rhoeteium, 
were the first persons that founded Polium near the Simois, 
now called Polisma, but not in a secure spot, and hence it 
was soon in ruins. 

The present settlement, and the temple, were built in the 
time of the Lydian kings ; but it was not then a city ; a long 
time afterwards, however, and by degrees, it became, as we 
have said, a considerable place. 

Hellanicus, in order to gratify the Ilienses, as is his custom, 
maintains that the present and the ancient city are the same. 
But the district on the extinction of the city was divided by 
the possessors of Rhoeteium and Sigeium, and the other 
neighbouring people among themselves. Upon the rebuilding 
of the city, however, they restored it. 

43. Ida is thought to be appropriately described by Homer, 

' The corrupt passage replaced by asterisks is £70' iKtrfvovreg re (ppsvag^ 
which is unintelligible. 

* The following is a translation of the passage, as found in the speech of 
Lycurgus, still preserved to us : 

*' Who has not heard of Troy, the greatest 
City of those times, and sovereign of all 
Asia, that when, once destroyed by 
The Greeks it remained for ever uninhabited ? ** 



B. XIII. c. I. § 43. THE TROAD. 369 

as abounding with springs on account of the multitude of 
rivers which issue from it, particularly where Dardania as 
far as Scepsis lies at its foot, and the places about Ilium. 

Demetrius, who was acquainted with these places, (for he 
was a native,) thus speaks of them : " There is a height of 
Ida called Cotylus ; it is situated about 120 stadia above 
Scepsis, and from it flow the Scamander, the Granicus, and 
the JEsepus ; ^ the two last, being the contributions of many 
smaller sources, fall into the Propontis, but the Scamander, 
which has but a single source, flows towards the west. All 
these sources are in the neighbourhood of each other, and are 
comprised within a circuit of 20 stadia. The termination of 
the ^sepus is farthest distant from its commencement, 
namely, about 500 stadia." 

We may, however, ask why the poet says, 

'* They came to the fair fountains, whence burst forth two streams of th' 
eddying Scamander, one floAving with water warm," ^ 

that is, hot ; he proceeds, however, 

" around issues vapour as though caused by fire — the other gushes out in 
the summer, cold like hail, or frozen as snow," 

for no warm springs are now found in that spot, nor is the 
source of the Scamander there, but in the mountain, and 
there is one source instead of two.^ It is probable that the 

^ Modern maps place the Cotylus, and consequently the sources of the 
river which Demetrius calls Scamander, at more than 30,000 toises, or 
nearly eleven leagues, to the S. E. of the entrance of the Hellespont, 
when the source of the Scamander should be near Troy ; and Troy itself, 
according to the measurement adopted by Demetrius, ought not to be 
more than 3400 toises, or a league and a quarter, from the sea. There is 
therefore a manifest contradiction, and it appears, as I have already re- 
marked, that the river called Scamander by Demetrius, is not the river so 
called by Homer, but the Simois of the poet. — Gossellin. 

Modern travellers accuse Demetrius with having confounded the Sca- 
mander with the Simois. The Simois they say rises in Cotylus, (Kas- 
dagh,) as also the Granicus, (Oustrola,) and the iEsepus, (Satal-dere,) 
but the sources of the Scamander are below, and to the W. of Ida, near 
the village called by the Turks Bounar-bachi, which signifies the head of 
the source. If it is an error, Demetrius is not alone responsible for it, 
as Hellenicus (Schol. in Iliad xxi. 242) also says that the Scamander 
had its source in Mount Ida itself. Both probably rested on the author- 
ity of Homer, who places the source of the Scamander in Ida. They did 
not, however, observe that Homer employs the expression air' 'lla'nii,v 
opscjv in a more extensive sense. — Du Theil. 

2 II. xxii. 147. 

' We owe to the researches of M. de Choiseul Goufiier, published 

VOL. II. 2 b 



370 STRABO. Casaub. 602. 

warm spring has failed, but the cold spring flowing from the 
Scamander along a subterraneous channel emerges at this 
place ; or, because the water was near the Scamander, it was 
called the source of that river, for there are several springs, 
which are said to be its sources. 

44. The Andirus empties itself into the Scamander; a 

without his knowledge in 1793, an acquaintance with these two springs, 
which present nearly the same phenomena as described by Homer. 
These springs have since been seen by many travellers ; they are situated 
at the foot of a small hill on which is Bounar-bachi, and about 6500 
toises in a straight line from the mouth of the Mendere. The stream which 
flows from them never fails, and after having run for some time parallel 
to the Mender^, it turns suddenly to throw itself into the Archipelago, 
near the middle of the interval which separates the ruins of Alexandria- 
Troas from the cape Koum-kale, but still leaving traces of a bed through 
which it formerly flowed to join the Mendere. We are now convinced 
that this little river is the Scamander of Homer, that the present Men- 
dere is the Simois of that poet, and that the ancient Ilium, which was 
near the sources of the Scamander, must have been situated on the 
heights of Bounar-bachi. 

In the time of Homer these two rivers united together and discharged 
themselves into the sea by the same mouth : but the course of the Sca- 
mander has been changed for a long time, since, according to Pliny, (v. 
c. 33,) a part of its waters spread themselves over a marsh, and the re- 
mainder flowed unto the ^Egsean Sea, between Alexandria-Troas and 
Sigeum. This ancient author therefore gave to the little river (which 
he called Palcescamander, the old Scamander) exactly the same course 
which the stream Bounar-bachi still follows. This change of direction 
in the course of the river appears to me to have been anterior to the time 
of Demetrius of Scepsis, for this alone can explain his error. For, no- 
longer finding a stream which runs on the left of the present Mendere, 
and which might represent the Scamander, he thought proper to transfer 
this latter name to the Simois, and to look for the site of the Ilium of 
Homer, as also of the plain which was the scene of the combats de- 
scribed by the poet, on the right of this river. Thence he is persuaded 
that the town of the Ilienses occupied the same site as the ancient Ilium, 
and that the stream of the Tschiblak was the Simois. 

I must remark that the Mendere is a torrent, the waters of which fail 
during a great part of the year, whilst the stream of the Bounar-bachi 
always continues to flow. This advantage is probably the reason why it 
preserved the name of Scamander to the sea, although it ran into the bed 
of the Simois and was far inferior to this torrent in the length of its course. 
Hence it may be perceived how the name of Scamander, now changed 
into that of Mendere, has remained attached to this ancient mouth, how 
ultimately it was given to the whole course of the Simois, and how De- 
metrius of Scepsis was led into error by the change in the course of the 
true Scamander, and by the transfer of its name to the Simois. — Voyage 
Pittoresque de la Grece par M. de Choiseul Gouffier. Le Voyage dans la 
Troad, par ilf. Leehevalier. The Topography of Troy, W. Gell.—Gossellin. 



B. XIII. c. I. § 44, 45, THE TROAD. 371 

river which comes from the district of Caresene, a mountain- 
ous country, in which are many villages. It is well cultivated 
by the husbandmen. It adjoins Dardania, and extends as far as 
the places about Zeleia and Pityeia. The country, it is said, 
had its name from the river Caresus, mentioned by the poet, 

" the Rhesus, Heptaporus, Caresus, and Rhodius," * 
but the city of the same name as the river is in ruins. 

Demetrius again says, the river Rhesus is now called 
Rhoeites, unless it is the Rhesus which empties itself into 
the Granicus. 

The Heptaporus, which is called also Polyporus, is crossed 
seven times in travelling from the places about Gale Peuce (or 
the beautiful pitch tree) to the village Melaense and to the 
Asclepieium, founded by Lysimachus. 

Attains, the first king, gives this account of the beautiful 
pitch tree ; its circumference, he says, was 24 feet ; the 
height of the trunk from the root was 67 feet ; it then formed 
three branches, equally distant from each other ; it then con- 
tracts into one head, and here it completes the whole height 
of two plethra, and 15 cubits. It is distant from Adramytti- 
um 180 stadia towards the north. 

The Garesus flows from Malus, a place situated between 
Palaescepsis and Achaeium, in front of the isle of Tenedos, and 
empties itself into the -^sepus. 

The Rhodius flows from Gleandria and Gordus, which are 
distant 60 stadia from Gale Peuce, and empties itself into the 
^nius (^sepus ?). 

45. In the valley about the -^sepus, on the left of its 
course, the first place we meet with is Polichna, a walled 
stronghold ; then Palasscepsis, next Alizonium, a place invent- 
ed for the supposed existence of the Halizoni whom we have 
mentioned before.^ Then Garesus, a deserted city, and Ga- 
resene, and a river of the same name, (Garesus,) which also 
forms a considerable valley, but less than that about the ^se- 
pus. Next follow the plains of Zeleia, and the mountain plains, 
which are well cultivated. On the right of the JEsepus, be- 
tween Polichna and Palaescepsis is Nea-Gome,^ and Argyria, 

' II. xii. 20. 2 B. xii. c. iii. § 21. 

' Below Strabo calls this same place iEnea, and in b. xii. c. iii. § 23, 
Enea-Come. Pliny calls it Nea ; it is said to be the same place called 
by the Turks Ene. 

2 B 2 



372 STRABO. Casaxjb. 603. 

(the silver mines,)^ which are another fiction framed to sup- 
port the same hypothesis, in order that the words of Homer 
may be defended, 

" where silver is produced." ' 

Where then is Alybe, or Alope, or in whatever way they 
please to play upon the name ? For they ought to have had 
the impudence to invent this place also, and not to leave their 
system imperfect and exposed to detection, when they had 
once ventured so far. This is the contradiction which may 
be given to Demetrius. 

As to the rest, we ought at least in the greatest number of 
instances to attend to a man of experience, and a native of the 
country, who also had bestowed so much thought and time on 
this subject as to write thirty books to interpret little more 
than 60 lines of the catalogue of the Trojan forces. 

Palasscepsis, according to Demetrius, is distant from ^nea 
50, and from the river -^sepus 30, stadia, and the name of 
PalaBScepsis is applied to many other places.^ 

We return to the sea-coast, from which we have digressed. 

46. After the Sigeian promontory, and the Achilleium, is 
the coast opposite to Tenedos, the Achsei'um, and Tenedos it- 
self, distant not more than 40 stadia from the continent. It is 
about 80 stadia in circumference. It contains an ^olian 
city, and has two harbours, and a temple of Apollo Smin- 
theus, as the poet testifies ; 

" Smintheus, thou that reignest over Tenedos." * 

There are several small islands around it, and two in particu- 
lar, called Calydnge,^ situated in the course of the voyage to 
Lectum. There are some writers who call Tenedos Calydna, 

' 'Apyvpia, in the neuter gender, with the accent on the antipenultima, 
means " silver mines." But 'ApyvpLa, with the accent on the penultima, 
becomes the name of a town. 

2 II. ii. 856. 

' What other places ? I do not think that Strabo or Demetrius have 
mentioned any other place bearing the name of Palasscepsis. — Du Theil. 

* II. i. 38. 

* There are no islands to the south of Tenedos, — that is, between Tene- 
dos and Cape Lectum (Baba). The state of the text might induce us to 
suppose that, instead of Lectum, Strabo wrote Sigeum. Then the Ca- 
lydnae islands would answer to the Mauro islands or to the isles des 
Lapins. — Gossellin. 



B. XIII. c. I. § 47, 48. THE TROAD. 373 

and others Leucophrys.^ There are other small islands around 
it besides these. They lay near the scene of the fable about 
Tennes, from whom the island has its name, and of the story 
of Cycnus, a Thracian by descent, and father, according to 
some writers, of Tennes, and king of Colonae. 

47. Continuous with the Achaeium are Larisa and Colonje, 
formerly belonging to the people of Tenedos, who occupied 
the opposite coast ; and the present Chrysa, situated upon a 
rocky height above the sea, and Hamaxitus lying below, and 
close to Lectum. But at present Alexandreia is continuous 
with the Achaeium ; the inhabitants of those small towns, and 
of many other strongholds, were embodied in Alexandreia. 
Among the latter were Cebrene and Neandria. The territory 
is in the possession of the Alexandrini, and the spot in which 
Alexandreia is now situated was called Sigia. 

48. The temple of Apollo Smintheus is in this Chrysa, and 
the symbol, a mouse, which shows the etymology of the epi- 
thet Smintheus, lying under the foot of the statue.^ They are 
the workmanship of Scopas of Paros. They reconcile the his- 
tory, and the fable about the mice, in this following manner. 

The Teucri, who came from Crete, (of whom Callinus, the 
elegiac poet, gave the first history, and he was followed by 
many others,) were directed by an oracle to settle wherever 
the earth-born inhabitants should attack them, which, it is 
said, occurred to them near Hamaxitus, for in the night-time 
great multitudes of field-mice came out and devoured all arms 
or utensils which were made of leather ; the colony therefore 
settled there. These people also called the mountain Ida, 
after the name of the mountain in Crete. 

* Called also Lyrnessa and Phoeiiice. The first of these names is the 
same as that of one of the 12 towns on the continent sacked by Achilles. 
The name Phoenice was given to it probably by a Phoenician colony. 
Leucophrys, (white brows,) from the colour of the coast. 

* From (TfiivOog, a rat, in the ^olic dialect. The worship of Apollo 
Smintheus was not confined to the town of Chrysa alone ; it was common 
to all the continent of the Troad and to the adjacent islands ; it extended 
along the whole coast to the island of Rhodes, as Strabo afterwards informs 
us. He has already told us that there was a temple of Apollo Smintheus 
in the island of Tenedos. Coins of this island exist, bearing the effigy of 
the god with a rat under the chin. The town of Hamaxitus, on the con- 
tinent, had also its temple of Apollo Smintheus, where was not only to be 
seen the picture of a rat near the tripod of the god, but also tame rats, 
maintained at the public expense. 



374 STRABO. Casaub. 604. 

But Heracleides of Pontus says, that the mice, which 
swarmed near the temple, were considered as sacred, and the 
statue is represented as standing upon a mouse. 

Others say, that a certain Teucer came from Attica, who 
belonged to the Demus of Trees, which is now called Xype- 
teon, but that no Teucri came from Crete. They adduce as 
a proof of the intermixture of Trojans with Athenians, that 
an Ericthonius was a founder of both people. 

This is the account of modern writers. But the traces 
which now exist in the plain of Thebe, and at Chrysa situated 
there, coincide better with the description of Homer ; and of 
these we shall speak immediately.^ 

The name of Smintheus is to be found in many places, for 
near Hamaxitus itself, besides the Sminthian Apollo at the 
temple, there are two places called Sminthia, and others in the 
neighbouring district of Larissa. In the district also of Pariane 
is a place called Sminthia ; others in Rhodes,^ Lindus, 
and in many places besides. The temple is now called 
Sminthium. 

Separate from the other is the Halesian plain near Lectum, 
which is not extensive, and the Tragasaean salt-pan near Ha- 
maxitus,^ where the salt spontaneously concretes on the 
blowing of the Etesian winds. On Lectum stands an altar 
dedicated to the Twelve Gods, erected, it is said, by Aga- 
memnon. 

These places are in sight of Ilium, at the distance of a little 
more than 200 stadia. On the other side the parts about 
Abydos are visible, although Abydos is somewhat nearer. 

49. After doubling Lectum, there follow the most consider- 
able cities of the JEolians, the bay of Adramyttium, on which 
Homer seems to have placed the greater part of the Leleges, 
and the Cilicians, divided into two tribes. There also is the 
coast of the Mitylenaeans with some villages of the Mitylenas- 
ans on the continent. The bay has the name of the Idaean 
bay, for the ridge extending from Lectum to Ida overhangs 

1 Sect. 63. 

' In the island of Rhodes more especially many Sminthia must have 
existed, as Andreas, a native of Lindus, one of the three cities of the 
island, made these temples the subject of a treatise entitled " On the 
Sminthia of Rhodes." 

' The Turks call the place Fousla, " the salt-pans." 



B. xiii. c. I. § 50, 51. THE TROAD. 375 

the commencement of the bay, where, according to the poet,^ 
the Leleges were first settled. 

50. I have spoken before of the Leleges, and I shall now 
add that the poet speaks of a Pedasus, a city of theirs which 
was subject to Altes ; 

" Altes, king of the war-loving Leleges, governs 
The lofty Pedasus on the river Satnioeis : "* 

the spot exists but there is no city. Some read, but incor- 
rectly, "below Satnioeis," as if the city lay at the foot of a 
mountain called Satnioeis ; yet there is no mountain there 
called Satnioeis, but a river, on which the city is placed. The 
city is at present deserted. The poet mentions the river ; 

*' Ajax pierced with his spear Satnius, the son of CEnops, whom the beau- 
tiful nymph Nais bore to CEnops, when he tended herds on the banks of 
the Satnioeis."^ 

And in another place ; 

" CEnops dwelt on the banks of the smooth-flowing Satnioeis 
In lofty Pedasus."* 

Later writers called it Satioeis, and some writers Saphnioeis. 
It is a great winter torrent, which the poet, by mentioning it, 
made remarkable. These places are continuous with the 
districts Dardania and»Scepsia, and are as it were another 
Dardania, but lower than the former. 

51. The country comprised in the districts of Antandria, 
Cebrene, Neandria, and the Hamaxitus, as far as the sea op- 
posite to Lesbos, now belongs to the people of Assus and Gar- 
gara.^ 

The Neandrians are situated above Hamaxitus on this 
side Lectum, but more towards the interior, and nearer to 
Ilium, from which they are distant 130 stadia. Above 
these people are the Cebrenii, and above the Cebrenii the 
Dardanii, extending as far as Palaescepsis, and even to 
Scepsis. 

The poet Alcaeus calls Antandrus a city of the Leleges : 
" First is Antandrus, a city of the Leleges." 

Demetrius of Scepsis places it among the adjacent cities, so 
that it might .be in the country of the Cilicians, for these 
people are rather to be regarded as bordering upon the Le- 

» 11. X. 429. 2 II. xxi. 86. ' II. xiv. 443. * II. vi. 34. 

* At the foot of the mountain on which is now the village Ine. 



376 STRABO. Casaub. 606. 

leges, having as their boundary the southern side of Mount 
Ida. These however are situated low down, and approach 
nearer the sea-coast at Adramyttium. After Lectum, at the 
distance of 40 stadia is Polymedium,^ a stronghold ; then at 
the distance of 80 stadia Assus, situated a little above the 
sea; next at 140 stadia Gargara, which is situated on a pro- 
montory, which forms the gulf, properly called the gulf of 
Adramyttium. For the whole of the sea-coast from Lectum 
to Canae, and the Elaitic bay, is comprised under the same 
name, the gulf of Adramyttium. This, however, is properly 
called the Adramyttene gulf, which is enclosed within the 
promontory on which Gargara stands, and that called the 
promontory Pyrrha,'^ on which is a temple of Venus. The 
breadth of the entrance forms a passage across from promon- 
tory to promontory of 120 stadia. Within it is Antandrus,^ 
with a mountain above it, which is called Alexandreia, where 
it is said the contest between the goddesses was decided by 
Paris ; and Aspaneus, the depository of the timber cut from 
the forests of Ida ; it is here that wood is brought down and 
disposed of to those who want it. 

Next is Astyra, a village and grove sacred to Artemis As- 
tyrene. Close to it is Adramyttium, a city founded by a 
colony of Athenians, with a harbour, and a station for vessels. 
Beyond the gulf and the promontory Pyrrha is Cisthene, a 
deserted city with a harbour. Above it in the interior is a 
copper mine, Perperena, Trarium, and other similar settle- 
ments. 

On this coast after Cisthene are the villages of the Mity- 
lenaeans, Coryphantis and Heracleia ; next to these is Attea ; 
then Atarneus,* Pitane,^ and the mouths of the Ca'icus. These, 
however, belong to the Elaitic gulf. On the opposite side of 
the Caicus are Elaea,^ and the remainder of the gulf as far as 
Canas. 

We shall resume our description of each place, lest we 
should have omitted any one that is remarkable. And first 
with regard to Scepsis. 

52. Palaescepsis is situated above Cebrene towards the 
most elevated part of Ida near Polichna. It had the name of 

' Palamedium ? Pliny, b. v. c. 30. 

^ Karatepe-bournou, or Cape San Nicolo. 

' Antandro. * Dikeli-koi. * Tschandarlyk. * lalea. 



B. XIII. C. I. 



53. THE TROAD. 377 



Scepsis ^ either for some other reason or because it was 
within view of the places around, if we may be allowed to 
derive words then in use among Barbarians from the Greek 
language. Afterwards the inhabitants were transferred to 
the present Scepsis, 60 stadia lower down, by Scamandrius, 
the son of Hector, and by Ascanius, the son of JEneas ; these 
two families reigned, it is said, a long time at Scepsis. They 
changed the form of government to an oligarchy ; afterwards 
the Milesians united with the Scepsians, and formed a de- 
mocracy.2 The descendants of these families had never- 
theless the name of kings, and held certain dignities. Anti- 
gonus incorporated the Scepsians with the inhabitants of 
Alexandreia (Troas) ; Lysimachus dissolved this union, and 
they returned to their own country. 

53. The Scepsian (Demetrius) supposes that Scepsis was 
the palace of ^neas, situated between the dominion of ^neas 
and Lyrnessus, where, it is said, he took refuge when pur- 
sued by Achilles. 

" Remember you not," says Achilles, "how I chased you when alone and 
apart from the herds, with swift steps, from the heights of Ida, thence in- 
deed you escaped to Lyrnessus; but I took and destroyed it." ' 

Present traditions respecting JEneas do not agree with the 
story respecting the first founders of Scepsis. For it is said 
that he was spared on account of his hatred to Priam : 

"he ever bore hatred to Priam, for never had Priam bestowed any 
honour upon him for his valour."* 

His companion chiefs, the Antenoridae, and Antenor, and my- 
self, escaped on account of the hospitality which the latter had 
shown to Menelaus. 

Sophocles, in his play, The Capture of Troy, says, that a 
panther's skin was placed before Antenor's door as a signal 
that his house should be spared from plunder. Antenor and 

^ From (TfC£7rro/xai, (sceptomai,) I see to a distance, from which the 
compound TrEQiaKi-KTOfiai, (perisceptomai,) / see to a distance around. 
Strabo perceived the absurdity of such an etymology. Others derived 
the name of this place from GKi]irTO}iai, I pretend, whence aKfj^ptg, 
(skepsis,) a pretext, because it was on this part of the chain of Ida that 
Rhea, on the birth of Jupiter, substituted for him a stone clothed as an 
infant, and presented it to be devoured by Saturn in place of her child. 
This etymology is conformable to analogy, although founded on a ridi- 
culous fable. 2 B. xiii. c. i. § 6. ^ ii. ^x. 188. * II. xiii. 460 



378 STRABO. Casatjb. 608. 

his four sons, together with the surviving Heneti, are said to 
have escaped into Thrace, and thence into Henetica on the Adri- 
atic ; ' but JEneas, with his father Anchises and his son As- 
canius, are said to have collected a large body of people, and 
to have set sail. Some writers say that he settled about the 
Macedonian Olympus ; according toothers he founded Capuae,^ 
near Mantineia in Arcadia, and that he took the name of the 
city from Capys. There is another account, that he dis- 
embarked at ^gesta^ in Sicily, with Elymus, a Trojan, and 
took possession of Eryx * and Lilybseus,^ and called the rivers 
about ^Egesta Scamander and Simoi's; that from Sicily he 
went to Latium, and settled there in obedience to an oracle 
enjoining him to remain wherever he should eat his table. 
This happened in Latium, near Lavinium, when a large cake 
of bread which was set down instead of, and for want of, a 
table, was eaten together with the meat that was laid upon it. 
Homer does not agree either with these writers or with 
what is said respecting the founders of Scepsis. For he re- 
presents ^neas as remaining at Troy, succeeding to the king- 
dom, and delivering the succession to his children's children 
after the extinction of the race of Priam : 

"the son of Saturn hated the family of Priam: henceforward ^neas 
shall reign over the Trojans, and his children's children to late genera- 
tions." ® 

In this manner not even the succession of Scamandrius 
could be maintained. He disagrees still more with those 
writers who speak of his wanderings as far as Italy, and 
make him end his days in that country. Some write the 
verse thus : 

*' The race of ^neas and his children's children," meaning the Romans, 
"shall rule over all nations." 

54. The Socratic philosophers, Erastus, Coriscus, and Ne- 
leus, the son of Coriscus, a disciple of Aristotle, and Theo- 
phrastus, were natives of Scepsis. Neleus succeeded to the 
possession of the library of Theophrastus, which included that 
of Aristotle ; for Aristotle gave his library, and left his school, 

1 See note *, vol. i. p. 76. 

2 Some assert that Capys, the father of Anchises, was the founder of 
Capua or Capya in Italy. The town in Arcadia was afterwards called 
Caphya or Caphyse. ' Segesta. * Trapani. * Cape Boe. 

6 II. XX. 306. 



B. xni. c. I. § 54. THE TROAD. 379 

to Theophrastus. Aristotle^ was the first person with whom 
we are acquainted who made a collection of books, and sug- 
gested to the kings of ^gypt the formation of a library. 
Theophrastus left his library to Neleus, who carried it to 
Scepsis, and bequeathed it to some ignorant persons who kept 
the books locked up, lying in disorder. When the Scepsians 
understood that the Attalic kings, on whom the city was de- 
pendent, were in eager search for books, with which they in- 
tended to furnish the library at Pergamus, they hid theirs in 
an excavation under-ground ; at length, but not before they had 
been injured by damp and worms, the descendants of Neleus 
sold the books of Aristotle and Theophrastus for a large sum 
of money to Apellicon of Teos. Apellicon^ was rather a 
lover of books than a philosopher ; when therefore he attempt- 
ed to restore the parts which had been eaten and corroded by 
worms, he made alterations in the original text and introduced 
them into new copies ; he moreover supplied the defective parts 
unskilfully, and published the books full of errors. It was the 
misfortune of the ancient Peripatetics, those after Theophras- 
tus, that being wholly unprovided with the books of Aris- 
totle, with the exception of a few only, and those chiefly of 
the exoteric^ kind, they were unable to philosophize according 

* This statement is not in contradiction with those (A then, b . i. c. 3) 
who assert that Pisistratus, tyrant of Athens, and Polycrates, tyrant of 
Samos, were the first who formed libraries. The libraries of these two 
princes, who lived six centuries before our time, were probably confined 
to half a dozen poets, and it may be supposed that the care Pisistratus 
took to collect the poems of Homer did not extend to poets posterior to 
his time. But in the time of Aristotle there existed many poems, a 
great number of oratorical discourses, historical works, and various 
treatises of philosophy. 

' Apellicon proclaimed himself a philosopher of the school of Aristotle. 
From what Athenaeus, b. v., says of him, he appears to have used his 
great wealth for the purposes of ostentation rather than of employing it 
for the benefit of others. He was sent by Aristion, (or Athenion, as 
Athenaeus calls him,) tyrant of Athens, to Delos, at the head of ten thou- 
sand soldiers, to remove the treasures of the temple. He was defeated 
by the Romans, and having lost his whole army, escaped with difficulty. 

^ This name was given to books intended to be seen and read by every 
one, but which did not contain the fundamental dogmas which Aristotle 
only communicated to those of his own school. The books which con- 
tained these doctrines were called, by way of distinction, esoteric. Such 
at least is the opinion of those who admit of the existence of a secret doc- 
trine, and a public doctrine, in the philosophy of Aristotle. This passage 
of Strabo however seems to favour those who maintained a different 



380 STRABO. Casatjb. 609. 

to the principles of the system, and merely occupied them- 
selves in elaborate discussions on common places. Their suc- 
cessors however, from the time that these books were pub- 
lished, philosophized, and propounded the doctrine of Aristotle 
more successfully than their predecessors, but were under the 
necessity of advancing a great deal as probable only, on ac- 
count of the multitude of errors contained in the copies. 

Even Rome contributed to this increase of errors ; for im- 
mediately on the death of Apellicon, Sylla, who captured 
Athens, seized the library of Apellicon. When it was 
brought to Rome, Tyrannion,^ the grammarian, who was an 
admirer of Aristotle, courted the superintendent of the library 
and obtained the use of it. Some vendors of books, also, 
employed bad scribes and neglected to compare the copies 
with the original. This happens in the case of other books 
which are copied for sale both here and at Alexandreia. 

This may suffice on this subject. 

55. Demetrius the grammarian, whom we have frequently 
mentioned, was a native of Scepsis. He composed a com- 
ment on the catalogue of the Trojan forces. He was con- 
temporary with Crates and Aristarchus. He was succeeded 
by Metrodorus,^ who changed from being a philosopher to 

opinion, namely, that this celebrated distinction of exoteric and esoteric 
doctrines, which is peculiar to the works of Aristotle, is not founded on 
any essential difference of doctrine, but rather on a difference of method, 
so that the word exoteric was applied to works where the opinions of the 
philosopher were set forth in a manner to be understood by all intelligent . 
readers, whether of his own school or strangers ; and esoteric to those 
works where his opinions were thoroughly discussed, and in a scientific 
manner, and which, not being intelligible to every one, required to be ex- 
plained by the master himself. 

* Tyrannion was a native of Amisus, whose lectures he attended (b. xii. 
c. iii. § 16). He is often quoted among the commentators of Homer. 
It was he also who gave copies of the works of Aristotle to Andronicus 
of Rhodes, for whom he made a catalogue of them. 

^ Metrodorus was not only a fellow-countryman of Demetrius, who was 
one of the richest and most distinguished citizens of Scepsis, but also his 
contemporary and protege. A small treatise of Metrodorus is cited, en- 
titled TTtpl dXenrriKrJQ, which may mean "on anointing with oil," or 
•' on oil used in the public exercises." It seems however very probable 
that the treatise on the Troad, (TpwtKd,) which Athenaeus attributes to 
another Metrodorus of Chios, was the work of this Metrodorus of Scep- 
sis. The place of his birth, which was in the Troad, might have suggested, 
as it did to his patron, the idea of treating a subject liable to discussion, 
and to endeavour to throw light upon it by the words of Homer. Add to 



B. XIII. c. I. § 56, 57. THE TROAD. 381 

engage in public affairs. His writings are for the most part 
in the style of the rhetoricians. He employed a new and 
striking kind of phraseology. Although he was poor, yet, in 
consequence of the reputation which he had acquired, he 
married a rich wife at Chalcedon, and acquired the surname 
of the Chalcedonian. He paid great court to Mithridates 
Eupator, whom he accompanied with his wife on a voyage to 
Pontus, and received from him distinguished honours. He 
was appointed to preside over a tribunal where the party 
condemned by the judge had no power of appeal to the king. 
His prosperity however was not lasting, for he incurred the 
enmity of some very unjust persons, and deserted from the 
king at the very time that he was despatched on an embassy 
to Tigranes the Armenian. Tigranes sent him back much 
against his inclination to Eupator, who was then flying from 
his hereditary kingdom. Metrodorus died on the road, either 
in consequence of orders from the king, or by natural disease, 
for both causes of his death are stated. 
So much then respecting Scepsis. 

56. Next to Scepsis are Andeira, Pioniae, and Gargaris. 
There is found at Andeira a stone, which when burnt becomes 
iron. It is then put into a furnace together with some kind 
of earth, when it distils a mock silver, (Pseudargyrum,) or 
with the addition of copper it becomes the compound called 
oreichalcum. There is found a mock silver near Tmolus 
also. These places and those about Assus were occupied by 
the Leleges. 

57. Assus is a strong place, and well fortified with walls. 
There is a long and perpendicular ascent from the sea and 
the harbour, so that the verse of Stratonicus the citharist 
seems to be applicable to it ; 

this that Strabo quotes also Metrodorus on the subject of the Amazons, 
•whose history appears so closely connected with the Trojan war that all 
who have touched on the one, have also treated of the other. Pliny quotes 
also a Metrodorus on the subject of the serpents of the river Rhyndacus, 
near the Troad. It is also a question whether Metrodorus was one of 
those who occupied themselves with mnemonics, or the art of increasing 
and strengthening the memory. According to Plutarch, Metrodorus 
was the victim of Mithridates. Tigranes, who had placed the philo- 
sopher in his power, more from inadvertence than intentionally, so much 
regretted his death that he celebrated magnificent obsequies to his 
memory. 



382 STRABO. Casaub. 610. 

*' Go to Assus, if you mean to reach quickly the confines of death." 
The harbour is formed of a large mole. 
Cleanthes, the Stoic philosopher, was a native of this place. 
He succeeded to the school of Zeno of Citium, and left it to 
Chrysippus of Soli. Here also Aristotle resided for some 
time, on account of his relationship to Hermeas the tyrant. 
Hermeas was an eunuch, servant of a money-changer. When 
he was at Athens he was the hearer both of Plato and of 
Aristotle. On his return he became the associate in the 
tyranny of his master, who attacked the places near Atar- 
neus and Assus. He afterwards succeeded his master, sent 
for both Aristotle and Xenocrates, and treated them with 
kindness. He even gave his niece in marriage to Aristotle. 
But Memnon of Rhodes, who was at that time general in the 
service of the Persians, invited to his house Hermeas, under 
the mask of friendship, and on pretence of business. He 
seized Hermeas, and sent him to the king, who ordered him 
to be hanged. The philosophers, avoiding places in posses- 
sion of the Persians, escaped by flight. 

58. Myrsilus says that Assus was founded by Methymnae- 
ans ; but according to Hellanicus it was an ^olian city, like 
Gargara and Lamponia of the ^olians. Gargara ^ was found- 
ed from Assus ; it was not well peopled, for the kings intro- 
duced settlers from Miletopolis,^ which they cleared of its in- 

* Gargara is the same town called above by Strabo Gargaris, unless he 
meant by the latter name the territory of Gargara, a distinction we find 
made below between Pedasa and Pedasis. The author of the Etymolo- 
gicum Magnum calls the place Gargarus, and informs us that the inhabit- 
ants abandoned it on account of the cold, it being situated on Mount Ida ; 
that they founded a new town in the plain, and that the town abandoned 
afterwards received the name of Old Gargara. 

The town called Lamponia by Strabo is called Lamponium by Hella- 
nicus and Herodotus. 

'■' By " the kings," we must probably understand the kings of Bithynia 
rather than the kings of Persia, as understood by Rambach (De Mileto 
ej usque colonise) ; for if we suppose that colonists are here meant who 
came to Gargara from Miletus after the destruction of this latter town by 
the Persians, how could Demetrius of Scepsis say of the Gargareans 
that, " ^olians as they were, or instead of iEolians they became semi- 
barbarians?" He ought at least to have said, " that they became loni- 
ans," for Miletus, a Greek city of Ionia, at the time of its destruction by 
the Persians, was far from being barbarous. But Miletopolis, although 
from its name and position in the territory of Cyzicus was probably, like 
Cyzicus, a colony of Miletus, yet might have been peopled with barbari- 



B. XIII. c. I. § 59, 60. THE TROAD. 383 

habitants, so that Demetrius the Scepsian says that, instead of 
being Cohans, the people became semi-barbarians. In the 
time of Homer all these places belonged to Leleges, whom some 
writers represent as Carians, but Homer distinguishes them, 

" Near the sea are Carians, and Paeonians with curved bows, Leleges, and 
Caucones." ' 

The Leleges were therefore a different people from the Cari- 
ans, and lived between the people subject to ^neas and the 
Cilicians, as they are called by the poet. After being plun- 
dered by Achilles, they removed to Caria, and occupied the 
country about the present Halicarnassus. 

59. Pedasus, the city which they abandoned, is no longer 
in existence. But in the interior of the country belonging to 
the people of Halicarnassus there was a city called by them 
Pedasa, and the territory has even now the name of Pedasis. 
It is said that this district contained eight cities, occupied by 
the Leleges, who were formerly so populous a nation as to 
possess Caria as far as Myndus, Bargylia, and a great part of 
Pisidia. In later times, when they united with the Carians in 
their expeditions, they were dispersed throughout the whole of 
Greece, and the race became extinct. 

Mausolus, according to Callisthenes, assembled in Halicar- 
nassus ^ alone the inhabitants of six out of the eight cities, but 
allowed Suangela and Myndus to remain untouched. Herodo- 
tus^ relates that whenever anything unfortunate was about to 
befall the inhabitants of Pedasus^ and the neighbourhood a 
beard appeared on the face of the priestess of Minerva, and 
that this happened three times. 

There is now existing in the territory of the Stratoniceis* 
a small town called Pedasum. There are to be seen through- 
out the whole of Caria and at Miletus sepulchres, and for- 
tifications, and vestiges of settlements of the Leleges. 

60. The tract of sea-coast following next after the Leleges 
was occupied, according to Homer, by Cilicians, but at present 
it is occupied by Adramytteni, Atarneitae, and Pitanasi as far 
as the mouth of the Caicus. The Cilicians were divided into 

ans at the time Gargara received colonists. Mualitsh is the modern name 
of Miletopolis. 

• II. X. 428. 8 Budrun, the birth-place of Herodotus. 

» Herod, i. 175 : viii. 104. * Paitschin ? * Eski-Hissar. 



384 STRABO. Casaub. 611. 

two dynasties, as we have before said,^ the head of one was 
Eetion, the other Mynes. 

61. Homer says that Thebe was the city of Eetion ; 

" We went to Thebe, the sacred city of Eetion." ^ 

To him also belonged Chrysa, which contained the temple 
of Apollo Smintheus, for Chryseis was taken from Thebe ; 

" We went," 
he says, 

" to Thebe, ravaged it, and carried everything away ; the sons of the 
Achgeans divided the booty among themselves, but selected for Atrides the 
beautiful Chryseis." 

Lyrnessus he calls the city of Mynes, for 

" having plundered Lyrnessus, and destroyed the walls of Thebe," ' 

Achilles slew Mynes and Epistrophus^ so that when Brysei's 
says, 

" you suffered me not to weep when the swift Achilles slew my husband, 
and laid waste the city of the divine Mynes," * 

the poet cannot mean Thebe, for that belonged to Eetion, but 
Lyrnessus, for both cities lay in what was afterwards called 
the plain of Thebe, which, on account of its fertility, was a 
subject of contest among the Mysians and Lydians formerly, 
and latterly among the Greeks who had migrated from JEolis 
and Lesbos. At present Adramytteni possess the greater 
part of it ; there are Thebe and Lyrnessus, a strong place, 
but both are deserted. One is situated at the distance of 60 
stadia from Adramyttium on one side, and the other 88 stadia 
on the other side. 

62. In the Adramyttene district are Chrysa and Cilia. 
There is at present near Thebe a place called Cilia, in which 
is a temple of Apollo Cillseus. Beside it runs a river, which 
comes from Mount Ida. These places are near Antandria. 
The Cillagum in Lesbos has its name from this Cilia. There 
is also a mountain Cillseum between Gargara and Antandrus. 
Daes of Colonae says that the temple of Apollo Cillseus was 
founded at Colonge by the ^olians, who came by sea from 
Greece. At Chrysa also it is said that there is a Cillaean 
Apollo, but it is uncertain whether it is the same as Apollo 
Smintheus, or a different statue. 

» C. vii. § 49. 2 II. i. 366. » II. ii. 691. ^ II. ii. 295. 



B. XIII. c. I. § 63, 64. THE TROAD. 385 

63. Chrysa is a small town on the sea-coast with a harbour. 
Near and above it is Thebe. Here was the temple of 
Apollo Smintheus, and here Chryseis lived. The place at pre- 
sent is entirely abandoned. To the present Chrysa, near Ha- 
maxitus, was transferred the temple of the Cilicians, one party 
of whom went to Pamphylia, the other to Hamaxitus. Those 
who are not well acquainted with ancient histories say that 
Chryses and Chryseis lived there, and that Homer mentions 
the place. But there is no harbour at this place, yet Homer 
says, 

" but when they entered the deep harbour,'" — 

nor is the temple on the sea-coast, but Homer places it there ; 

" Chryseis left the ship ; then the sage Ulysses, leading her to the altar, 
placed her in the hands of her beloved father."'' 

Nor is it near Thebe, but it is near it, according to Homer, for 
he says, that Chryseis was taken away from thence. 

Nor is there any place of the name of Cilia in the district 
of the Alexandreia, (Troas,) nor a temple of Apollo Cillaeus, 
whereas the poet joins them together : 

" who art the guardian of Chrysa, and the divine Cilia."' 

But it is in the plain of Thebe that they are seen near to- 
gether. The voyage from the Cilician Chrysa to the Nau- 
stathmus (or naval station) is about 700 stadia, and occupies a 
day, w^hich is as much as Ulysses seems to have completed ; 
for immediately upon leaving the vessel he offers sacrifice to 
the god, and being overtaken by the evening, remains there. 
In the morning he sets sail. It is scarcely a third of the 
above-mentioned distance from Hamaxitus, so that Ulysses 
could have performed his sacrifice and have returned to the 
Naustathmus the same day. There is also a monument of 
Cillus, a large mound, near the temple, of Apollo Cillaeus. 
He is said to have been the charioteer of Pelops, and to 
have had the chief command in these parts. Perhaps the 
country Cilicia had its name from him, or he had his from the 
country. 

64. The story about the Teucri, and the mice from whom 
the name of Smintheus is derived, (for mice are called Smin- 
thii,) must be transferred to